Conjour's Masquerade
by Saitaina R. Moricia
Summary: It's been seven years, since the death of Kaitou Kid, but there is still one thing out there, Kaito and Kiden left un-finished. Featuring: Kaito, Kiden, Saguru, Conan, Akako and others. Part III of the "Dance" Series.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **I warned you once of magic and belief, and now I'm here to warn again.

Within these walls reality stops, magic takes root and changes the history of men.

We venture further then we did before,

so if you're willing...open the door.

**Chapter One: Conjour's Masquerade**

"_Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard_

It had been seven long years, since Kaitou Kid had perished in the explosion that had occurred the same night Kuroba Rose was born. While Rose had never known the shadow of Kaitou Kid, nor the man once named Edogowa Kiden, she was still a huge fan, feeding off her brother and cousin.

Which was why, on a fine afternoon, the threesome were on their way to the seventh annual Kaitou Kid convention. A day to celebrate and morn the fallen thief.

"How much longer?" Rose asked, tugging on her brother's hand, her other supporting her walking cane that helped her move.

"We're almost there, Rose." Conan said from next to his cousin, smiling softly. It was still hard for the now fourteen-year-old to imagine how much Rose had grown, even though he had been there the whole way.

"But I want to be there _now_," Rose said, pulling away from her brother in an effort to move faster, wobbling slightly as her balance adjusted to the change before managing to get her twisted leg to move in unison with her cane. She turned as best she could without falling, grinning back at the pair. "Come on!"

The threesome finally made it to the convention hall, bowing to the doorman before slipping inside. They paused for a moment, simply staring at the sheer...Kidness that surrounded them. "Wow," Rose said, before hobbling off, eager to see everything.

"Rose, stay close!" Kaito yelled after her, smiling as he watched his sister dive headlong into the fandom that was his lover and twin.

"It still hurts, but this..makes it easier." Conan said softly, glancing at all the happy faces.

Kaito smiled and reached out, gently taking Conan's hand and giving it a squeeze before releasing him and heading towards the real reason he had appeared at something that reminded him, everywhere, of Kiden.

"Kuroba-kun!"

Kaito smiled, leaning on the small table, careful of the large glossy prints. "Suzuki-chan, surprising to see you here." he teased, grinning at the girl.

"Ch, says you. What are you looking for this year, more close-ups?"

"Hmm, not sure yet...what do you have new?"

"That wall over there is all new prints, mostly from old fan footage or news clips that were never aired."

Kaito nodded, moving over to the wall she indicated, examining the large photos of crowds, cops, even pictures of Kiden, taken from a distance. One picture, almost buried under a picture of Kid caught his eye however, and he pushed the covering picture away to stare in open mouthed awe at the image. "Where did this come from?"

Sonoko glanced up from sorting images, shrugging. "That? Came from a video from a news team before a heist. They were going to destroy it but we found some interesting shots on there."

Kaito reached out, gently taking the matted print from the wall, a pain in his chest as he stared at himself, smiling up at Kiden whose arm was around him and Saguru. Akako was holding Conan (who was blushing brightly), and Aoko was checking her watch, looking at her father across the path.

"I'll take this, and any other copies you have." Kaito said, setting the print on the table.

Sonoko nodded, pulling out three more copies, bagging them with the original. "On me, it's not a popular print, despite Hakuba-kun's appearance."

"Thank you kindly," Kaito whispered, gently brushing his fingers over the bag. "You don't know what this means to me."

"Hey, anything for a fellow Kid fan."

--

"Yes sir. I know it's been seven years sir. Yes sir, I am aware I was assigned to the Task Force for the Kaitou Kid case as a good will loan. Yes sir, I am aware I am still an officer with Scotland Yard and thus answer to my superiors in London. Yes sir. No sir. No sir, I cannot at this time re-locate my family to London. Yes sir, I am aware you have control over weither or not you fire me, but...yes sir." Saguru bit back a sigh as he listened to his boss in London as the man tried, as he had monthly for the past seven years, recall Saguru back to the country.

It wasn't that Saguru didn't miss London, he did, terribly, but his life was here in Japan now, with Kaito. And while he would have loved to go back to London, he only wanted to do so for a season, and not to work.

"I understand sir. Yes sir...no sir...no sir, no, Edward! I'm not moving my family back to London now or any other time! We have a life here in Japan, careers and family. We're _happy_ here. I don't care if you want me back in England, my life is here. Fine, you do that.'

Saguru slammed down the phone and cursed, tempted to throw his paperweight across his office since he couldn't throw it at Edward himself. He looked up as someone cleared their throat in the doorway to his office and he nodded to Nakamori, allowing the man in.

"St. Claire still trying to drag you back?" the older officer asked, taking a seat across from Saguru's desk.

Saguru nodded, running a hand through his hair, trying to calm down. "As always."

"The officer still stands for you to join us," Nakamori offered, before handing Saguru a file. "New witness reports for the burglary.

Saguru took the file, smiling at his boss and friend. "Thanks, but there's still a part of me that enjoys working for Scotland Yard, Edward excluded."

Nakamori laughed at that, nodding. "The childish dreams of the past never really leave us, do they? Don't forget, dinner this weekend, Maria says she's finally got that recipe down."

Saguru had to laugh at that, quite used to Ginzo's new wife's attempts at cooking. Maria was a Spanish born woman who came to Japan by chance and never left. She had been trying, for years, to adapt her country's dishes with traditional Japanese cooking...usually with spectacular failures. "I'm sure Kaito is eager to try it."

--

It had started out as a lark. Mika, Jii and Kaito pooling their money together to open a gymnasium, a sort of...back up plan, in case Kaito's preforming career never took off. Once it had, and Rose was getting older, the gym was converted, part of it still dedicated to the students who studied there daily, with the rest adapted to more special needs students, a staff of fifty physical therapists working with the students to help them walk, run, or even just stand.

Every afternoon, the whole family showed up to help out, work in the offices, or just play on the equipment, depending on their mood. Kaito had long since bought out his parent's shares, but it truly was a family business.

"Ready, Rose?" Conan called and the young girl nodded, staring at the bar above her. Conan lifted his young cousin up so she could grasp the bar, before watching as Rose carefully pulled herself up, using her stomach muscles to lift her legs, before flipping around the bar.

Kaito glanced over from where he was working with two young girls on their back flips, smiling as he watched Rose raise herself into a handstand on the bar, before turning to flip the other direction. He turned back to his students, helping them as they flipped across the floor.

"Alright, dismount!" Conan called and Rose gave another flip around the bar before letting go. She landed, her twisted leg crumpled, causing her to stumble to her knees. Conan helped her up, smiling softly. "You did well."

Rose nodded, watching sadly as the girl's Kaito was spotting flipped in the air before taking a drink of her water, brushing off the feeling of disappointment. She had long ago knew she would not be able to do the things her brother and his students could do, and instead, she tried her hardest to master those she could. It still didn't stop the feelings of failure that sometimes crept up on her, but she never let herself dwell on them.

"That was _very_ good Rose, you're getting better at that, but now we need to work on your walking." her physical therapist said, smiling as the seven-year-old groaned and fell back on the pad's, faking death.

Mika chuckled from where she was standing on the balance beam, wobbling slightly with her laughter. "Get up, Rose and do your therapy."

"Only if you do a handstand!" Rose called, bouncing back up to a sitting position.

Mika stuck out her tongue playfully before eying the beam nervously. It had been too long since she had done anything like this. She took a breath and lowered down, holding the beam with her hands as she kicked her feet up into the air, giving a slight yelp as her body wanted to lean against the side. She managed to re-gain her balance and held her body straight for a few seconds, before lowering her legs over her head, lifting back to a stand, almost missing as she went to straighten fully, held up on one end by Jii, who was smiling up at his wife.

Kaito applauded his mother, laughing as she made a rude gesture at him, before turning his attention back to his students.

Conan shook his head at Mika's balance beam act before yelping as Akako swatted his head from her place on the pommel horse, where she was sitting. He gave his girlfriend a grin, turning his focus to Rose who he was supposed to be assisting.

--

"Kuroba-san, turn a little to your left, please."

Kaito shifted to his left a bit, putting his back more against Saguru's arm, resisting the urge to make a face as the photographer snapped another picture. When he had agreed to the photo shoot, finding it the lesser of two evils as the press kept camping out on his doorstep to get pictures of him, Saguru or Conan, but he had forgotten how much hassle it was, inviting someone into their lives for a day.

"Conan-kun, shift over a bit behind Akako."

Kaito moved to allow Conan behind Akako, almost tripping over his new floor length tuxedo jacket, not used to the extra fabric yet. Another flash went off, nearly blinding the foursome. Kaito relaxed as the photographer went to re-load, burning off some nervous energy as he started making a rose appear and disappear between his fingers. He smiled, tilting his head up to received a kiss from Saguru, groaning as the photographer bounced back over, ready for more.

The group ended up pleased with the shots, Kaito enjoying the outdoor ones with the whole group and Rose, who had appeared mid shoot, much to the photographer's joy, while Saguru liked the serious ones more. Conan was just happy with any photograph that featured Akako and himself, and Akako favored the one of Kaito leaning against his father's portrait.

All in all, it was a good set, and enough that each magazine bidding would be happy with their share of exclusive photographs and would give the group a break...at least until the next time they made the news.

--

The Cat's Playpen was a low key sort of place, where you could get both a drink and your heart's desire for the right price. The owner, a little spit fire of a Russian woman (who was old enough to remember when Czar's ruled her country), was the sort you had always wished you had for a grandmother.

Provided you didn't mind your grandmother running a whore house and dabbling in the drug and gambling trades. Bohdana was the one to go to when you needed something in this part of Tokyo, the matriarch of the whole neighborhood. She could provide anything, for the right amount of yen.

Everything that was, except for her bartender, a mysterious young blond girl who smiled generously and flirted outrageously, but never did anything more then poor a drink, no matter the offer.

Said blond was currently leaning over the bar, waiting for the rush of salerymen getting off work and students out of school. It was rather boring, during the day, with nothing to do but stare at a wall or occasionally serve one of the few regulars who came in during 'off hours'.

"Mail!" Bohdana called, slapping a stack of mail on the bar before shuffling off with her cane, the only real reminder that she was passing her century mark.

The blond smiled as she gathered her mail from where the woman had set it, flipping through the few bills and letters before letting out a squeal, opening the magazine and flipping pages quickly until landing on the feature she was looking for, staring down at the grinning faces. A painted nail slowly traced over the smiling face of Kuroba Kaito, before drifting over to the man next to him, curling slightly, as if to capture a stray strand of hair from the detective's head.

"Another set I see."

She looked up as Bohdana took a seat at the bar, the elderly woman reaching across to grab a bottle of vodka and a glass, gesturing to the magazine with the bottle.

"You shouldn't dwell on fantasies, Kidoko. Every month you stare at those pictures until the edges are worn away and then you get another. This is your life, not what could have been."

The blond woman sighed, brushing her thumb over the face of Conan. "Maybe, but it's still nice to dream." she said, closing the magazine and hiding it under the bar as the doors opened. "Besides, it's nice to see how much they changed."

Bohdana snorted, downing her shot of vodka. "You speak as if you know them. Mark my words, child. Dreams will only hurt you in the end, just as they did my Anna."

Kidoko reached out, gently touching the woman's hand. "Anna's death was a tragedy, grandmother. I promise, I won't end up like her."

Bohdana patted Kidoko's hand before moving away from the bar to greet her guests. Kidoko took one last look at the magazine before heading to greet the guests, flirting with the men as she poured their requests.


	2. Skeletal Lily

**Chapter Two: Skeletal Lily**

_We are not naïve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of their job. -Jean Rostand_

"You look bored."

Kidoko looked up at the girl staring at her before giving a huff. "I am bored. There's nothing to _do_ when you are all working and no one wants drinks."

Anita laughed, sliding onto a barstool, pulling down her skirt. "Then get out of here, go out, have fun. I can cover the bar. I'm off anyway and you haven't taken a day off in two weeks."

Kidoko sighed, before pushing up off the table. "Alright, tell Bodie?"

"Not a chance, I'm hiding from her." Anita smacked Kidoko's ass as the girl passed her, before climbing over the bar and pouring herself a Gin and Tonic, leaning on the bar herself, propping up her breasts with her arms. An hour later, a red-headed man stepped out of Kidoko's room, waving to Anita who was flirting with a patron, before heading out of the building.

It was a short walk to Konosuke Eden's favorite club, the time spent wisely getting money for the club, easily slipping wallets from the milling drunks around him. He sighed, removing the yen from the wallets before tossing them in a can he passed, not bothering to count it out. Pickpocketing wasn't the same as stealing priceless gems under a dead man's name, but it was just as easy, plus wallets were easier to get rid of then ancient gemstones.

Eden flashed his ID at the bouncer at the door, not that it was needed as the man had already nodded him in on sight. The red head blended into the smoke covered crowd, allowing the beats of the music vibrating up from the floor to flow through him, relaxing his body.

* * *

"Come on, it's my turn to pick and I chose dancing." Kaito said, smiling up at his lover, the neon lights of the club reflecting off his hair and the metal studs on his armbands.

Saguru sighed, wrapping his arms around Kaito's waist, leaning down slightly to kiss his boyfriend's lips. "You're an annoying brat and you're no longer allowed to choose what we're doing for date night."

"Yes I am! We need _something_ in our lives other then the opera and Mozart." Kaito said, sticking out his tounge before walking backwards as the line moved closer to the door. He turned around long enough to offer his ID to the bouncer before walking backwards again, pulling Saguru along as they were waved into the club.

He finally released Saguru's waist, taking the blond's hand as he headed for the bar, eager to get drunk and hyper...and maybe laid if Saguru got drunk enough.

* * *

Eden smiled at the boy who was pressed against him, leaning down for a kiss before pulling away and vanishing back into the crowd, turning his mind from the now confused boy as he ordered a drink, glancing over the rest of the patrons of the club, wondering if there was anyone here worth his time.

* * *

"I'm horny," Kaito purred in Saguru's ear, nibbling on the lobe in front of his mouth before turning backwards against Saguru's body, drawing the blond's left hand up to his mouth, sucking lightly on Saguru's index finger. "Can't we have fun yet?"

Saguru smiled, leaning down to nuzzle Kaito's neck. "Fine, pick out your prey."

"Mmm, already done." Kaito whispered, turning back around and wrapping his arms around Saguru's neck, pressing up against the blond. "Over my left shoulder, red-headed, at the bar."

Saguru kissed Kaito's ear, glancing in the direction the brunette indicated, spotting the only red-head in sight. "Nice," Saguru purred, eyes roaming over the figure. "Go fetch," Saguru teased, releasing his lover who made a face at him before slipping into the crowd, giving his hips an extra wiggle to tease his boyfriend.

By the time Kaito arrived at the bar, the red-head had vanished back into the crowd of dancers and Kaito cursed, ordering a drink from the bartender. When the man handed it to him, Kaito leaned over, holding out the bartender's tip. "The red-head that was just here, do you know him?"

"Eden?" The bartender snorted, taking the tip. "Don't even think about it, you're not his type. Eden only goes for blond's or...younger men."

"Really," Kaito said, before turning away from the bar, chewing on his straw. "I can work with that."

* * *

Eden leaned over, the white powder on the table disappearing through the straw easily. He leaned back, passing the straw to the girl next to him, before cleaning out his nose with a bit of saline solution his friend handed him, leaning in for a kiss, a hint of smoke and something else flavoring it.

He leaned back, allowing the lights and music to help him on his rush. He blinked as he spotted a blond on the floor and smiled, turning to eye the ever famous detective, licking his lips. The blond looked at him and cocked his head towards the door and Eden smiled more, slipping from the booth, not bothering to make his good-bye's as he headed for the back hall.

* * *

Kaito grinned as Saguru got their prey in the back hall, downing his drink and following, watching as Saguru whispered in the red-head's ear and the red-head nodded, consenting to their act. The red-head then kissed Saguru hungrily, allowing himself to be pushed against the wall, Saguru's hands roving over the red-head's body.

Kaito groaned as he watched them, leaning against the wall across from them, a hand sliding down to un-button and un-zip his leather pants, stroking himself as he watched his boyfriend attack Eden's neck, Saguru's own hand going down to un-zip the other man's jeans, reaching inside to stroke Eden.

Kaito licked his lip as the red-head moaned, watching hungrily, drinking in each flutter of the red-head's eyelashes and arch of his hips. Eden thrust eagerly into Saguru's hand, gripping the blond's hips tightly. Kaito shifted for a better viewing position as Saguru pulled back, un-doing his own pants before fishing out a condom and packet of lube, allowing Eden to remove his own pants as he prepared himself. He then lifted the slighter man, hooking one leg high over his hips as he reached under the other man, Eden gave a hop, hooking his other leg around the other side of Saguru's waist, shifting a bit so that Saguru could reach easier, groaning as Saguru slid the first finger in.

Kaito slowed on his stroking, not wanting to finish before they even began, torn between wanting to join in, and just enjoying the view. He slid down the wall to sit on the floor, shifting again so he had the full view, moaning as he looked up the other men's bodies, licking his lips in appreciation.

By now, Saguru had sheathed himself into Eden, adjusting the other man in his arms before pulling back and thrusting deeper into the man, causing him to moan. Saguru set a hard, rough pace as he thrust into Eden, biting the red-head on the neck and shoulder as he pushed into him, the encouraging moans from his partner fueling him deeper, faster.

He couldn't remember any other partner except Kaito and Kiden driving him this insane, but this stranger drove him to the brink, making Saguru want to tear him apart in his passion. His partners, for no matter who he was with, Kaito was always a participant, groaned in unison, Saguru's name spilling from Eden's lips in a whisper as he came, the sounds of cursing behind him a clear indicator Kaito did as well.

Saguru grinned, slightly madly as he shifted Eden, driving even harder into the man, hissing a few thrusts later as he came, pressing Eden hard against the wall as he all but collapsed against him.

* * *

Eden closed his eyes as Saguru pressed against him, blond hair tickling his cheeks as the blond's breath brushed against his neck. He tried to resist, but found himself inhaling deeply, the scent of pine, rose and a scent that was Saguru's musky own filling him, making his heart ache.

He never could resist Saguru, he knew that from the first moment he saw him out of Kaito's eyes to the moment he walked away from the burning building that killed Rum. That was one of the reasons he choose a life so far from his other's, from Saguru. The only way he ever saw the blond was through magazines or TV interviews, which was just how he wanted it.

Because he didn't think he was strong enough to walk away a second time.

His eyes opened and he looked over Saguru's shoulder, staring at the other half of his heart, his soul as Kaito tried to clean off his vinyl vest, the rest of his heart that Saguru didn't break falling into tiny shards. Every atom in his body cried out for Kaito, needing to touch, to feel, to know that that was Kaito, right there, with him.

Eden couldn't reach out, and he had to clench his fingers in Saguru's shirt to keep from doing it against his will, nails digging into his own flesh even through the silk. All he needed now was Conan or Akako and Eden would crumble completely.

Taking a breath, he un-locked his legs, wobbling slightly as he tried to stand and pull up his pants, staring at the stained cement floor in order to not look at either man. He moved around Saguru, zipping up before walking away, his heart and brain screaming at each other as he vanished back through the velvet curtain. He walked past his friends calling for him and out in the cold night, pulling a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his jacket and lighting one, taking a deep drag. He stared up at the night sky above him, tears staining his cheeks, reflecting in the moonlight. Eden heard laughter behind him and hit a wall next to him, ignoring the pain in his knuckles as he cursed, throwing himself against the wall, sobbing.

* * *

"Dust underneath the mistletoe leaves when you're not here, you went away upon boxing day,  
Now how the hell am I gonna make it into the New Year. Christmas time, don't let the bells end." Akako sang drunkenly, swaying slightly in the bath tub, almost slipping off the seat before giggling and grabbing the bottle of wine next to the tub, wincing as it clinked against the other bottles, eying it for a moment before pressing it to her lips and tilting her head back, allowing the wine to flow into her mouth...and down her body.

"It's not even Christmas," Conan said from the doorway where he watched his girlfriend, pushing his glasses up his nose. "That was last week."

"Doesn't matter, he's still gone." Akako said. "Cheers." She went to take another drink, only to find the bottle missing. Conan dumped took a sip of the wine before dumping it down the sink. He pulled off his shirt and reached into the tub, pulling the drain.

Akako grabbed the waistband of his jeans and pulled him close, kissing him, only instead of of a romantic gesture, she kissed as if she were trying to drink the wine from his mouth. Conan pulled away, pressing on her chest to keep her from trying to get at him again, fumbling for a towel with his other hand.

"Come on, Akako, time to go to bed."

"Nuh huh, having fun."

"Fun is not retarding our child while you mope," Conan said, dropping the towel on her head. "Now stand up."

"Don't wanna."

Conan sighed, pulling off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Please, Akako."

"Nope."

"You're not the only one who misses him!" Conan suddenly snapped before clamping his teeth together, biting back anything else he had to say. He stood and left the bathroom, returning in a moment with Saguru who ignored Akako's protest, lifting the naked witch out of the tub and carrying her to Conan and her bedroom, dropping her on the bed before leaving, ruffling Conan's hair as he did.

Conan started at his drunk and depressed girlfriend before pulling off his wet pants and climbing into the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms as she started to cry.

* * *

"It's...interesting." Kaito said, staring around the dusty, wall paper stained office, blinking. "A bit Noir but..."

"It'll look different after renovations." Saguru said, grinning like a maniac at the office. "Once I get it painted, get the wires upgraded for Internet and phones, get a secretary..."

"Better be female," Kaito said, eying his boyfriend with a smile. He spotted a rickety desk left from the previous tenets and grinned. He crossed over to the wooden object, running his finger over the dust covered surface. "You know, Saguru..."

"We're not having sex on the desk to christen my new office," Saguru said, not even looking up at Kaito as he measured a wall to see if his filing cabinets would fit.

Kaito pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "You didn't complain at the house...or the lab."

"We do _not_ have sex where I work."

"Police station."

"You're killing the dream, Kaito." Saguru turned and regarded his pouting lover, smiling. "I promise, when I get home, we'll play detective and client."

Kaito cheered up, crossing over to Kaito and wrapping his arms around Saguru's neck, smiling. "I'm really happy for you, Saguru. It may not be Scotland Yard, but this is ten times better."

Saguru smiled and bent down for a kiss when the office door burst open, kicking dust high into the air. Nakamori ignored their position, waving a plastic wrapped paper wildly around. "We have a heist note!"

"Heist...note?" Kaito said, blinking as if the words were unfamiliar, memories of his past coming back to smack him in the face.

"We get them occasionally, particularly around the anniversary." Saguru said, releasing Kaito. "Fans, rivals...people trying to get a name. They crawl out of the wood work around his death, trying to imitate him."

"That's sick," Kaito said, disgusted and a bit aggravated, his old instincts to protect 'the name' rising up.

Saguru shrugged. "Usually amatures, easily caught. Not to mention, using his name is a high crime now, as people still want someone to prosecute for his crimes. There has been more then one suspect that almost got tried in his stead." At this, Saguru turned to Nakamori, curious. "Why did you come all the way down here with it, it's not un-usual, we had one last week."

"This one, you may want to read." Nakamori said, handing the paper to Saguru.

Saguru read it over once, then again more slowly, before cursing. Kaito blinked and took the paper, looking at it, his anger growing as he read the words.

* * *

_  
Ten and eight, two and seven:_

_otoshidama are out again._

_Tonight the bells welcome_

_shigoto-hajime. _

_Factor in the fortune of_

_the undying sun;_

_Though heavy snows yet loom_

_with their cutting wind,_

_Lengthening days assure spring_

_comes to the beneficiary._

_I hope for your company again_

_in the coming year.  
_

* * *

"I'm going to kill whomever this is. First I'm going to strangle them, then I'm going to peel their eyes from their skull with a rusty spoon, then I'm going.."

"Ugh, can yous top?" Akako said, looking rather green, fighting the urge to vomit the more graphic her boyfriend got. She lost the battle and promptly ducked behind a dumpster, vomiting, the Investigative Two unit taking bets onto how long she'd take, with the members who were parent's betting around a minute or more.

Conan winced and went to comfort his girlfriend while Kaito surveyed the scene, trying to pick out who could be the thief and maybe save the trouble of going through with this farce. He spotted a red-head in the crowd and nudged Saguru who glanced over and smirked, remembering the man from the club. He leaned close to whisper in Kaito's ear when the world exploded into confetti and smoke.

Coughing, he covered his mouth with his sleeve, looking around. High on the tip of the roof of the estate that was the target of the night, stood a white clad figure, the moonlight visible behind him, siloetting him. A cry exploded from the crowd and the figure gave a slight bow, tipping his hat to the crowd before jumping from the roof, disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

Saguru and the rest of the team went running while Kaito followed at a slower pace. He wondered who would dare use his other's name, especially when mocking the man's death. He rubbed at his chest at the pang of loss that occurred when he thought of Kiden, before slipping into the house, following Nakamori's shouts.

Before Kaito could turn the corner into the gallery where the gem was, another smoke screen erupted and Kaito found himself in a hallway, blinking at the man before him. Blue eyes, monocle, too white to be true suit...Kaito had an irrational urge to slug the stranger wearing his 'uniform'. A gloved hand reached out, touching Kaito's face, before the man leaned in, pressing his lips against Kaito's hard.

A shout came from behind him and the stranger vanished through a window at the end of the hall, laughter trailing after him that left Kaito's heart aching. Kaito ran to the window, watching the thief disappear into the crowd, eyes searching for him, desperate to find and un-mask the impostor, only to loose track as the cops converged on the crowd from the rest of the grounds. A hand touched his shoulder and Kaito whipped around, eyes wide. Saguru looked down at him sadly, before gathering Kaito into his arms. Kaito then noticed he was crying, and clung to Saguru, wondering what was going on.


	3. Genisis Larceny

**Chapter Three: Genesis Larceny**

"_We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered." - Tom Stoppard _

Bohadona ignored the lock on Kidoko's door, using her master key to enter the room, closing and locking it behind her. She turned, passing the bed to enter the small room off to the side, which the girls normally used to dress for work (or hide from patrons). She pushed some costumes out of the way to find Eden hunched over the make-up table, his top hat next to him, face buried in gloved hands.

"What have you done, Eden?" She asked, staring at the young man in full heist gear, something she hadn't seen since the night he first came to her, looking for a place to live and a job. She pushed a stack of pantyhose off a chair taking a seat and hitting him lightly in the leg with her cane.

"I fucked up," Eden whispered, raising his head, eyes red-rimmed and haunted.

"I'd say. I thought we agreed Kid was dead, you killed him."

"I...they were there and..."

"You wanted them to know you were alive." Bohadona sighed, muttering something in Russian before patting at her hair sprayed hair, unable to run her hands through it in frustration. "Does Eva know?"

Eden shook his head, leaning back in his chair, staring at his reflection. "I didn't tell her, or Pan."

"Eden...you know you can't do things without them. You _agreed_ when Ana died, no more stunts, no more one man act. This is bigger then your ambitions, bigger then Anesidora. If you want your brother and twin to survive, you need to play nice with the others."

"I know..I wasn't...I didn't think, I'm sorry."

"Well, it's too late for sorry now, you've made your move. I _guess_ we can move things along, even though we're no where near ready for this." She tapped him with the tip of her cane again. "I'll talk to Eva and Pan, see where they are. Lily was already looking for targets, I can get a list from her, but _you_ get to explain things to Ask, and he won't be pleased."

Eden made a face, thinking of the young teenager who handled the technological aspects of their group. A volatile teen with a far beyond explosive temper, Eden had a feeling he'd be lucky to survive the conversation with all limbs in-tact. "I have to meet him tonight at the club anyway."

"You come home coked out of your head again and you're sleeping with Kumu and Honua upstairs."

Eden made a face. "Couldn't you have predicted more attractive bedmates?" he teased, ducking as Bohadona swung her cane at him, grabbing his breasts and masking tape to dress as Kidoko again.

--

Eden sighed, laying across the flat rooftop of the building across the street from the Tokyo Metropolitan police headquarters (Ekoda Koban), scratching at the hair on the back of his neck that kept tickling from the breeze, before raising his binoculars back to his face.

Spotting his target through the glass coming from the lift, he grinned and hopped down onto the fire escape, skipping steps as he hurried to the ground floor, hoping to make it before Saguru met his ride out front. He gave up on the stairs and started to just jump from level to level, wincing as he missed a protruding pipe that sliced at his arm. Landing in a crouch on the street, he glanced at his arm, pouting at the tear in his shirt before shifting his shoulders to hide it, straightening and crossing the street, getting honked at by a taxi who didn't appreciate him darting out in front of it.

He fell into step behind Saguru who had been caught up taking to a co-worker, deftly sliding his fingers into Saguru's jacket as he pushed past him, slipping the wallet out as he moved past the blond, keeping his body angled so that Kaito, who was in the waiting car wouldn't see the movement.

The target was in his hand and in his pant pocket as he turned to apologize, smiling at Saguru. "Ah, Inspector Hakuba, sorry!"

The blond blinked at him for a moment, trying to place the red-head before smiling and nodding. He gave a wave, memories of their time at the club clearly in his head as he climbed into the car with his boyfriend.

Eden watched them go before flipping open the wallet, snickering as he moved past Saguru's badge and ID, humming and walking down the street as he filched a business card from the small stack hidden under the badge, whistling in application at the picture of Akako.

He paused on the street, studying a picture of the family he had left behind, a small tug at his heart as he pulled the print free of it's plastic casing, a finger tracing over his brother's face before flipping the picture over, smiling at Kaito's neat characters listing the group's name from his to Charcoal the cat's, along with the date the picture was taken.

He pulled his own wallet from his leg pocket, flipping it open and flipping through a few pictures, before slipping the purloined picture in an empty sleeve opposite a picture of a scowling blond teenager, smiling.

Putting his own wallet away, he leaned over the shoulder of a twenty-something women next to him, staring at the flyer she was passing out. "Garage Sale?" he asked in English, curious.

"American thing, gets rid of junk." The woman said, looking up at him through heavily made eyes, before snorting. "Your roots are showing, Eden." Lily said, offering him a flyer. "Proceeds go to the Ekoda Orphanage."

"But, if I bring more junk home Bohdie will string me up as a pinata." Eden said, pouting before holding out the brown leather wallet he stole from Saguru. "Return this to the police station for me?"

"Only if you buy something at the sale." Lily said, accepting the wallet and stuffing it between her breasts as she had no where else to put it, except in her garter where he own wallet was.

"Alright, Alright. Ooh yeah, meeting tonight, Jerard's." with that, Eden vanished into the crowd with a wave, still looking over the flier.

Lily blinked, a pout forming on her lips. "Meeting or party?" she muttered before grabbing the arm of a businessman passing her. "Yo, go here, buy something." she ordered before releasing him.

--

"I saw you," a voice called as Eden slipped into the room, causing Eden to trip over a cord he hadn't noticed.

"Of course you saw me, you're watching the street feeds." Eden muttered, un-tangling himself of the demon cord and venturing into the maze of electronics and computers, finding his prey at a bank of monitor's, watching the city below them through the police camera's.

"I meant at Jerard's." The small blond teenager turned, glancing at Eden out of the corner of his eye before turning back to the monitor's, changing the view of one of the camera's as he focused in on a building, making a note on his chart before the camera's view was turned back by the police officer across town who had no idea someone was hacking his equipment.

Eden froze for a moment, wondering if it would be better for his health to leave now, before deciding he had to face this anyway, the same he did having to explain his actions at the heist. He glanced at the monitors, noting that none of their targets were on the screen and everything seemed peaceful before turning Ask's chair, straddling the blond's lap. "And what of it?" He purred, smiling down at the younger man. "You've never had a problem with me having fun before."

Ask's brown eyes narrowed, looking up at Eden, his hands rising against his will to rest on the thief's hips. "You've never fucked your ex before." the teen whispered, his voice a low growl that didn't sound at all threatening considering his age.

"Ah, so that's what it is. You're not pissed off what I did, but who." Eden wrapped his arms around Ask's neck, sinking forward slightly so that his lips brushed over the teen's as he spoke. "Jealousy looks good on you," Eden spoke, licking at Ask's lips.

"Eden," Ask growled out, his hands sliding up to grip at the red strands of hair, pulling Eden's head back. "I don't like being toyed with."

"Relax," Eden said in a sing song, teasing voice. "They didn't even know it was me and to them, it was a one off in the back hall of a club, there's nothing between Saguru and me anymore."

"Promise?" Ask said, an his age was revealed in the hopefulness of the question. For all Ask tried to be a tough, nothing could touch adult, he really was just a naive teenager, playing at being a grown-up.

"Promise," Eden said easily, smiling down at his lover before leaning in, kissing the boy deeply, intending to have a bit of fun before having to explain his actions with the Kid debacle. Unfortunately, as he was coaxing Ask's lips open, the door to the loft slid open, a man clearing his throat. Eden pouted, turning his head to look at the man behind him, snickering at the wisps of shaving cream on the top of his head, left over from shaving what little hair he had left off. "Eden, Honua wants to see you downstairs."

Eden groaned, burring his head in Ask's neck before slipping off the teenager, giving him an apologetic look as he headed for the door. As he passed Kumu, he jumped as the man smacked his ass, pouting and rubbing the offended object. Kumu just smirked, heading downstairs, whistling merrily. Eden shook his head, smiling as he headed for the kitchen to talk with Honua and hopefully steal some of the master chef's cooking.

--

Saguru un-clasped the strip of leather that held his gun in his holster, pulling the weapon out and removing the clip, setting both on the desk, before his hand moved to the other side of his pants, removing his badge and placing it just so, next to his gun.

The man across from him looked up, a sadness in his eyes as he reached out, accepting the badge, placing it into his own pocket. "I'm sorry to see you go, Saguru."

"You're a bad liar, Edward." Saguru said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Good think you're a cop, you'd suck as a criminal."

"You didn't have to quit, you could have come home, back to London."

Saguru shook his head, flicking his bangs from in front of his eyes. "I've told you time and again, Edward, my home is here now."

"You're giving up a brilliant career for a lover? That's not like you, Saguru. You would have done anything to get where you are when we went to Eton."

"Fuck you, Edward. The boy you knew then died years ago, my family is more important to me then anything Scotland Yard could offer, and you should have realized that."

"You owe us, Saguru."

"I owe you nothing, Edward! I never asked for your father to use his name to get me hired, nor did I need _you_ to use your name to keep me hired. I loved my job, yes, but I didn't need it, Edward. I'm fine on my own, I'm a big boy now.

"Saguru..."

"You're only here, because Sir Paul can't stand the idea that his star detective refuses to return to gather more press clippings to hang on his wall."

"Saguru, you're a Chief Inspector with the London Metropolitan Police, you are on the fast track to getting promoted all the way to Chief Superintendent, like your father, you are not only a lord of your family, but popular in your own right, you have everything waiting for you, why..."

"Because I'd rather give up everything, to stay with Kaito, then to have it all and live without him."

Edward opened his mouth again to speak, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was that of a dog barking. Saguru's eyes snapped open and he looked up at Kaito, Conan and Moriarty who were staring at him. Moriarty barked again before laying down at Conan's feet.

Kaito blinked, looking down at his lover who was wrapped almost as tight as a mummy in cords, wondering how the blond had managed that. "Are you...alright?"

"I'm quite fine, I was just day dreaming." Saguru said, coughing embarrassedly.

"I meant the cords attempting you to murder you," Kaito said with a smile, bending down to help untangle his lover. "What were you doing?"

"The phone company said that this building was too old to be wired for phone and Internet, I was..."

"Determined to prove them wrong," Kaito interrupted, laughing. "Come on, let's get you out of this and figure out what happened."

"Thank you."

--

Kiden placed his left hand on the palm reader, pressing down enough that the machine could accurately read his stress response while he stabbed his finger, allowing a drop of blood to slide into the tube. The tube was swallowed by the machine, and a moment later the door behind him slid open, allowing the thief into the 'inner sanctum' where the group met.

"Hail the conquering hero." Eva called, tossing a newspaper at Eden as he entered, the door sliding shut behind him.

Eden blinked, glancing at the newspaper before snorting as he saw his own picture, tossing the paper on the table, taking a seat next to Bohdie. "They could have at least took a picture of my better side." Eden said, accepting the beer Lily passed him from the mini-fridge.

"Or they could have taken a picture of empty sky as _you weren't supposed to be there._" Ask said, accepting his own beer before dis-connecting himself from the bank of computers and wheeling himself closer to the table. He engaged the breaks of his wheelchair, before opening the beer, glaring at Kiden across the table.

"Leave him alone, Ask. We agreed we would bring Kid back soon, Eden just...jumped the gun."

"Enough, all of you." Bohdie said, tapping her cane against the ground, getting the group's attention. She looked at the group around the table, studying in face in turn. Only one of them was related to her by blood, but each were her children in a sense. This moment was a crossroads, a time when she may lose one of them at any moment, due to their actions. "Eden has made the decision for us, _which is his right_," She emphasized as Ask opened his mouth. "It is his face, his name. We are just his compatriots, trying to help him as best we can."

"Agreed." Lily said, raising her beer, smiling at Eden who bowed his head to her.

Bohdie shook her head in fondness, before pressing a button on the small keypad next to her seat. An image of a collage aged man came on the large computer screens behind the group, replacing Ask's work. "Who was on Lif this week?"

A blond man next to Eva raised his hand, shaking his hair over his shoulder before turning to look at the image, pressing a button to replace the man with Tokyo University. "Lif went to school for most of the week, returning home to his parents every evening. No detours, no meetings. The only incident was on Wednesday, while Lif was at work. A homeless papering man approached Lif and had a brief conversation with him. Unfortunately, we did not have a chance to alter Lif's uniforms by then, so I was unable to hear what they discussed. This error has been rectified as Eden altered the uniform on Thursday when it was picked up with the laundry."

Bohdie looked to Eden to confirm this and Eden nodded, a small bug appearing between his fingers. "I added it to the collar, so we should be able to hear everything clearly without just getting fabric rustle."

"Alright, thank you Eden, Pan. Lily, I want you on him next week, you share some classes with him so it should be easier then Pan skipping work."

Lily nodded, making a note on the pad next to her. "What about the smelly men?"

"The BO has not made a move on either the Anesidora front or closer to Lif," Ask said, leaning back a bit in his wheelchair. I think right now, they're in a holding pattern since Kid re-appeared. They want to make sure it IS Eden and not another look-alike, especially after that incident just after Kid first died."

Lily shuddered, remembering the death of that poor teenager who thought it would be a great prank to pretend to be Kid on the first anniversary of Kid's 'death'. The images still gave her nightmares from time to time.

"What of the next heist?" Eva asked, looking at Eden who sighed, running a hand through his hair, toying with the bug in his hand.

"I don't know yet. The first one went well, but another...if I host another things will start getting very serious, very quickly. There's only so long we can count on both sides thinking I'm an imposter."

"Whatever you decide, Eden, we're behind you." Bohdie said. "We want this over as much as you do, and seven years _is_ quite a while to wait."

Eden smiled weakly, the chaos in his mind evident by the ever twisting bug between his fingers.

--

Saguru sighed, as he signed another paper, handing it off to the nurse before running his fingers through the short brown strands of Conan's hair, smiling down at the teenager who gave a small, pained smile, holding his arm close to his body. "Next time, try not to grab someone falling off a building, alright?"

Conan wrinkled his nose, wincing at a sharp wave of pain. "Had to, death was too good for him." Conan muttered.

"Yes, but we HAD something there to catch him."

"And I didn't know that," Conan pointed out before wincing yet again. "How much longer until I get some damn morphine?"

"Shouldn't be much longer, I just signed the consent." Saguru said, brushing back Conan's sweaty bangs before standing. "I'm going to go see about your IV and some coffee, what do you want?"

"Enough alcohol to numb the pain?" Conan tried, before laughing at Saguru's expression. "Coffee's fine. Have you called Akako?"

Saguru nodded, fishing his wallet out of his over-coat. "She's with Kaito right now at the OB/GYN, but they should be here when they're done."

"Alright," Conan said, just as the nurse came in carrying an IV bag and a syringe filled with the pain reliever Conan had been asking for every few minutes.

Saguru smiled at the look of relief on Conan's face before slipping out of the room to give them privacy, shoving his hands into his pockets as he headed down the hall, taking the long way to the coffee machine.

"The ID says her name's Kidoko, no other identification, she was found bleeding out on a street near the koban. It looks as if she fell, but where we can't tell, the only thing around there is the koban or that tall building across from it. We gave her fluids and typed her, but that's it. Her vitals are normal."

"Put her in room 3."

Saguru stared, watching, wide-eyed as a blond girl was wheeled past him, face slack, but far too familiar.

--

Ask groaned, reaching down to fist his hand into the red hair below, thrusting eagerly up into the hot, warm mouth around him. He moaned, licking his lips before pushing himself up on his elbows, looking down eagerly at the head bent over him, hissing as his lover looked up, a wicked grin on Eden's lips as the thief pulled off of Ask, moving up to kiss the teenager hungrily as he started to stroke the boy.

"GET UP!"

Ask yelped as something hit the side of his bed and he fell onto the floor, groaning. He pushed himself up as best he could, glaring at Pan. "What?!" He hissed, dragging himself to the wheelchair next to the bed, slapping at Pan as the older man tried to help him into the chair. Ask made sure the breaks were locked before using his arms to pull himself into the chair, twisting around until he was sitting, still glaring at the Italian. "Well?"

"Kidoko's in the hospital." Pan said flatly, before un-locking the wheelchair and wheeling Ask towards the elevator as Ask's brain tried to catch up with the information.


	4. Love Song From a Diffrent Point

**Chapter Four: Love Song From a Different Point of View**

The hardest thing to do, is to watch the one you love, love someone else. –Unknown

_"I'm surprised to find you here."_

_Kiden looked up from where he was leaning against a gravestone, blinking at the blond who was wheeling himself carefully down the path towards him. "Yuki," Kiden greeted, returning to his book._

_"Eva said you never come here," Yuki said, watching the brunette across from him. "Why now?"_

_Kiden put a finger between the pages, looking back up at the blond before his eyes darted to the side, towards a fresh grave before glancing back at the blond. "I'm sitting with a friend," Kiden said, then returning his attention back to the book._

_Yuki glanced at the grave before wheeling his chair closer, putting the breaks on as he reached Kiden's side, looking down at the man that had so troubled his superiors. "I should kill you," Yuki said evenly, as if he was discussing a lunch order. "After all, you're not supposed to be alive."_

_"Maybe you should," Kiden said, not looking up at Yuki, instead turning the page, studying the new lines of text._

_Yuki was silent for a moment, before clearing his throat un-comfortably, watching a butterfly flutter by, resting oh so gently on the top of the flower bouquet that made up the statue of Edogowa Kiden's grave. "Why did you save me?" He finally asked, looking at Kiden, confusion crossing his young face._

_Kiden sighed and closed his book, without bothering to mark the page. "Because you were there." Kiden said simply, finally looking at the ten year old, without his mind being somewhere else. "What else did you expect me to do?"_

_"Leave me there. I'm your enemy, Kiden. A born and bred operative of the Black Organization."_

_"Maybe that's what made it fun," Kid said with a mile, pushing himself up off the empty gave. He reached out, gently tilting Yuki's head up. "No one else wanted to save you, in fact, Pan wanted to kill you, as you lay gasping on your own blood." Kid leaned close, his lips brushing Yuki's ear. "You owe me." he whispered, before straightening and heading for the road where he motorcycle waited._

_Yuki watched him go, his ear tingling slightly from the rush of Kid's warm breath over his flesh before he looked back at the fresh grave, wondering if that was the price, of owing Kid._

_--_

_"Why the hell did you name me Ask?"_

_"Because it amused me," Kiden said, not looking up from the files he was organizing. "To be accepted by the group, you needed a new name, one without ties to the 'smelly men' as Lily calls them."_

_"But, why Ask?"_

_Kiden smirked at the reflection of a dimmed monitor, studying the blond behind him. "Because you're a dear, wooden boy, missing all life and spark. The name fits."_

_"And what are you going to call yourself, dead man?"_

_Kiden shrugged, returning to his organizing. "I haven't decided yet."_

_Yuki, now named Ask studied the back of the thief, a faint memory of a graveyard and a whispery breath crossing his mind, the image tainted by the time and moments between. "Eden." Ask said firmly, his voice broking no argument, not that Kiden was inclined to._

_"Eden?" Kiden questioned, turning to look at Ask curiously._

_"E as in Edogowa, and 'den' for Kiden...must honor the dead after all, as well as the only person you seem to care about anymore." Ask said, nodding to the picture of Conan Kiden kept by his computer._

_"Eden...I like it." Kiden smiled before turning back around, mind consumed with work again, though he did turn the picture of Conan face down, blocking it from Ask's view._

_Ask took this as a dismissal, turning his wheel chair around, heading for the elevator. He waited until he was shut away behind the metal walls before slumping, body slouching as he released the stress he felt, holding himself so stiffly before Kiden. He watched the numbers counting down the three floors to the club below, giving a small smile. "Eden...as in a place of bliss and utter ecstasy." he whispered, holding the image of Kid's smile close to his heart._

_--_

_"Sixteen already, hard to imagine," Eden said, smiling at the blond across from him as he trailed a finger down Lily's cheek, watching as the girl giggled drunkenly. "And to think, just yesterday you were the small, broken little boy I could hold in my arms as they cut off your legs."_

_Ask glared at Eden, raising his drink to his lips to keep from speaking, downing the fiery alcohol. The action backfired however, ending up causing Ask to cough violently. Eden laughed, sliding a glass of water towards Ask. "Perhaps we should put you back on Shirley Temples?" He asked cruelly, downing his own glass of Tequila and closing his eyes at the sudden rush of dizziness as the alcohol swamped him. _

_Eden stood shakily, climbing over Lily and Eva to stand, pulling the just recovered Ask away from the table. "If you'll excuse us, I have a gift for the birthday boy." he said, giving a courtly bow to the the table, causing Lily to giggle again, before wheeling Ask towards the back hallway. _

_He choose his route purposely, pushing Ask down one of the more...populated hallways of couples in various states of undress and intercourse, ignoring the tensing of Ask's shoulders with each step they took. Finally the pair made it to a private room that the owner reserved purely for Bohdie and her group, wheeling Ask into the room and locking it behind him._

_"So, what did you have for me?" Ask asked, his voice cold, aggravated with Eden's actions._

_"Patience, my wooden boy."_

_"You're as bad as Vermouth, calling me stupid names. She always called me Snow White."_

_Eden raised an eyebrow, turning to look at the sixteen year old, crossing in front of the chair to tilt Ask's face up. "The name fits," he said after a moment, his thumb brushing over Ask's rose pink lips. "You're so cold..." Eden's knelt, pressing his lips against Ask's, the teen's going wide in surprise, staring at the wall over shoulder, before fluttering shut as a warm tonger traced his lips, gently working them open._

_Eden pulled away after a moment, giving Ask's lips a final lick, grinning wickedly as the teenager whimpered in protest. "Happy Birthday, Yuki." he whispered, before pulling Ask in for a deeper kiss."_

--

"We're here," Pan said gruffly, and Ask was jerked out of his thoughts, looking up at the taller man before nodding, wheeling himself out of the elevator, following Pan towards the room where his girlfriend has been taken.

They were forced to wait outside, as the nurses changed Kidoko into a gown after cleaning up the mess that had been made putting the girl back together, allowed in only when they were sure Kidoko was resting comfortably.

Ask wheeled himself to the bed, taking the limp hand in his, gently caressing it, trying not to stare at the IV's, monitors and other odds and ends that made up a critical patient. "They removed her breasts," he whispered softly, the hand not clutching Kidoko's tracing over the muscled, but flat chest left once the silicone breast forms were removed. "She hates being seen without them."

"They're in the bag behind the door, Ask. I doubt Kidoko will have much problem with them being there."

Ask kissed the back of Kidoko's hand, trying to regain his his equilibrium and drag back up the mask of an un-feeling bastard he had used since he was five. "What happened to her?"

"She fell, from a great height." a voice said and Ask turned, angling his slender body in front of Kidoko as best he could while in the wheelchair, feeling re-assured as Pan moved next to him, the older man's hand near the hidden gun on his thigh.

"Doctor," Ask greeted, recognizing the man who had performed the surgery on his legs, as well as treated the group whenever they needed it, no questions asked. "I didn't realize you practiced here."

"I don't, but I was in the building and was called in as her general practitioner." Dr. Itou said, smiling at the teenager before him. "How are you, Kudo-chan?"

Ask shifted, un-used to hearing his actual family name, outside of the few visits he had with Dr. Itou. "Fine, thank you. But what about Kidoko? Will she be alright?"

"I believe she will, though it is all up to her, at the moment. The best results will of course, be if she wakes up tonight and is fully conscious, though, considering her past history..." Dr. Itou trailed off for a moment before clearing his throat. "If she doesn't wake up tonight, we'll have to keep her under supervision. She managed to avoid the worst of it, but ended up hitting her head somewhere along the line, and it's the second injury to the same region."

"Second?" Ask asked, confused.

"Kidoko was in control when she fell the first time, eight years ago." Pan said softly, remembering the horrific looking fall Kaitou Kid took into the side of a building.

"Oh," Ask said softly, turning his attention back to the woman in the bed, worry dancing about his face.

--

"I need to see the ID brought in with the blond woman." Saguru said, showing his badge to the nurse at the station.

"Of course sir, right away." The nurse said, pushing herself backwards and standing, giving Saguru a bow. She headed into the back, moving down to Kidoko's room. She bowed to the men inside before standing on tiptoe to whisper in Dr. Itou's here. "Inspector Hakuba is here," she whispered, her hand reaching into the patient belongings to retrieve Kidoko's ID. "He's formally requesting her ID."

"Shit," Itou said before glancing at the hallway. "Give it to him, we'll figure something out."

The nurse nodded and headed back to turn over the ID. Dr. Itou headed over to the monitors, un-hooking Kidoko with Pan's help.

Ask wheeled backwards, confused. "What's going on?"

"Hakuba-san is outside, requesting Kidoko's identification."

"Shit." Ask said, echoing Itou's thoughts. He headed for the door, closing it and grabbing Kidoko's things. "Is there anyway we can wake her up?"

"No, unfortunately. Which means we have to figure out how to get here without Hakuba seeing." Dr. Itou said, closing off the IV drip for the time-being.

"I'll carry her," Pan said, only to be cut off mid motion of picking up Kidoko's slender body by a groan from the girl in question.

Kidoko's eyelashes fluttered, before slowly opening. She stared at the ceiling for a long, silent moment before looking at Dr. Itou. "What's going on?" She asked, her voice rough and rather male.

"You're in the hospital, you fell and hit your head. Unfortunately, we don't have much time. Inspector Hakuba is down the hall, with your identification."

"Shit." Kidoko said and sat up, ignoring the rush of lightheadedness. "Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go," she mumbled, pulling off the tape holding the IV in her arm.

"Kidoko, don..." Dr. Itou rubbed his forehead as the woman pulled the IV out of her arm, getting blood everywhere. "Never mind, just go." he muttered, cleaning up the mess while Kidoko hopped out of bed, stumbling.

Pan grabbed the girl around the waist, lifting her off her feet. "Let's go, princess." He said, heading to the window Ask was opening. Pan took a glance down to see where they were, before grinning. "Later, doctor." he said, setting Kidoko in Ask's lap before carefully climbing out the window, standing on a partial ledge.

He reached back in, gently taking Kidoko into his arms, adjusting her as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, closing her eyes. Once she was secure, Pan jumped from the ledge, covering Kidoko's mouth as she gave a shout. The pair hit the canopy over the lobby entrance, closing their eyes tightly in a hope that the canvas would hold.

After bouncing a few times, the pair crawled to the edge, Pan climbing off first in order to help the smaller woman down, before racing for the taxi that had been waiting for Pan and Ask.

Ask watched as they climbed into the van before giving a sigh of relief, shutting the window again. He wheeled back towards the bed, climbing out of his chair and into the bed, covering part of his body with the blanket, lifting the other one for Dr. Itou to hold.

Just in time, as footsteps sounded in the hall. The pair turned, looking at the door as Saguru strode in, mouth open to berate the blond in bed...except that the blond laying there was not the one he was looking for. Frowning, he checked the number on the door, before looking back at the pair. "Sorry, I was looking for a Suzuki Kidoko?"

"I'm sorry, Inspector Hakuba, but you must have the wrong room."

"Are you sure? The nurse gave me this number..." He checked the door plaque again, his eyes narrowing.

"Quite sure, as my name is Kudo Yuki." the teenager in the bed grumbled. "Now, do you mind?" he made a shooing motion.

"Kudo?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I said." Ask said grumpily, his eyes narrowing at the blond. "Now go away...if you don't mind."

Saguru gave the pair a final look before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He stared at the door plaque as he did, frowning at the characters for 'Suzuki Kidoko'.

--

"Are any of your family members named 'Yuki'?" Saguru asked as he entered the room, startling Conan.

"Uh, Saguru, you know all my family members."

"I meant the other side."

"Uh, not that I know, but I haven't really paid attention to the family tree since I was ten. It's not really important to us."

"Hmm," Saguru frowned, staring at a piece of paper.

"Why?"

"Because there is a Kudo Yuki in the hospital bed that is supposed to belong to this woman." Saguru said, offering a photocopy of Kidoko's Japanese driver's license.

"This is..."

"A very good imitation of your sister." Saguru confirmed, a grim smile. "And as only six of us know what your sister looks like..."

"She's alive?" Conan gasped, staring at the image of a smiling (supposedly) blond.

--

"This is bad," Kidoko whispered, curled up in Ask's bed, clutching the mug of hot chocolate so tight, her knuckles were turning white. "So, so...so very bad."

"They were going to find out eventually," Pan muttered, sipping his coffee.

"Not like this, not...this wasn't planned." Kidoko muttered before going back to mumbling about how bad it was.

Eva rolled her eyes, taking a bite of the take-away lunch she grabbed on her way over. "You know Kidoko, she doesn't deal well when things go against what she wants." she said, gesturing to the mumbling woman with her fork before snagging another bite.

"It's not like they can find you anyway, so what does it matter? Not to mention there's plenty of women with fake blond hair and a Lolita fetish in Tokyo." Ask said, rolling his eyes as he brought up the camera's for the block that the Saguru's house was on, intending to check on the family.

"Well, that would be true, if some idiot didn't put her actual address on the license." Bohadona said from the elevator doors, throwing a pile of clothes at Kidoko. "Get dressed."

Kidoko blinked at the hot chocolate that was now on her hospital gown before un-curling, standing with Lily's support before slipping off her hospital gown. She gave a whimper at her breastless chest before being hit in the head with a wrapped bundle. She rubbed the side of her head, pouting at Bohdie before un-wrapping the bundle, giving a girlish squeal at the flesh coloured silicone before jumping back on the bed, grabbing the bottle of liquid latex that had been included, painting it across her chest.

Once the substance was tacky, he slipped the clear straps over his shoulders, carefully adjusting the breast forms so that they sat just so on his chest, before pressing the sides down, carefully blending the edges of the forms with the latex, adding another layer of the liquid over the edges to fully attach the forms as well as blend it in to the rest of his chest. He lifted the actual breast itself, patting a bit of talcum powder on his skin before placing the breast against his chest again, adjusting it so it looked perfect.

Pan watched the routine with interest, always curious to how Kidoko manipulated her breast to look as natural as Eva or Lily's. His world was devoted to Eva, but no heterosexual male could resist a nice pair of D breasts, even if they were made of silicone and latex.

Breasts attached, Kidoko stood, wiggling into the lace and nylon bits of fabric she dared call underwear, before pulling on her skirt, preferring to go topless for the moment as she waited for the latex to dry.

"So, what did you mean about Kidoko's ID?" Axel said, dragging his eyes away from his girlfriend's body.

"I mean, Kidoko wrote down the address for the Cat's Playpen on her driver's application, and as it _is_ her actual place of residence..."

"It'll be the first place Hakuba looks, and the first place he'll find her." Ask said, groaning and throwing a pillow at Kidoko who yelped as she fell backwards off the bed. Ask checked to make sure she didn't fall on her head before turning her attention back to Bohdie. "Let me guess, you want Kidoko to stay here?"

"Actually, I was hoping you would allow Eden to stay here. I do not want Kidoko around, not here, not Jerard's, and most certainly not the Cat's Playpen."

"No fair!" Kidoko said, climbing back on the bed and pulling her see through shirt on now that the latex had dried. "I haven't gotten to be out in _ages_."

"You were out yesterday, and then you screwed everything up."

Kidoko groaned, falling over into Honua's lap, peeking an eye out to see if anyone bought her act before flipping over so that she was facing up, allowing Honua to play with her hair.

"Kid," Bohdie started and Kidoko suddenly stilled, knowing Bohadona was serious when she used his actual name. "You have been good for seven years, better then I expected actually, considering your personality, but now is when it _counts_. You cannot let Saguru find you until we're ready."

"And when is that going to be?!" Kidoko said, sitting up, shrugging off Honua's hand as it tried to pull him back down. "I'm tired of hiding, Bohdie. I'm tired of waiting, and I'm _tired_ of not being with him! I want to go _home_, I want to see my brother and my best friend, I want to hold my other half...I want...I want my life back." By the end Kidoko was whispering, a tear sliding down her cheek that she angrily wiped away.

"Soon, my child. Soon this will be over and you can be home with them. We just have to build up enough resources to make sure you have a home to go back to."

"I miss them," Kidoko whispered and slipped from Honua's lap, kneeling on the floor before Bohadona, resting his head in her lap.

"I know," the elderly woman said softly, petting Kidoko's head.

--

"I warned you," Eva said, lowering her head to light up the cigarette between her lips.

"Warned me about what?" Ask muttered, looking down at the city below.

"Falling in love with him. He doesn't love anyone but himself, Ask. I told you that last year."

"You forgot Saguru, besides, I'm not in love with him."

Eva snorted, blowing out a stream of smoke. "Right, and that's why you're up here moping instead of downstairs with everyone else.

Ask was silent for a moment before un-locking his wheelchair, wheeling himself backwards from the edge of the roof, heading for the elevator. He stopped next to Eva, glaring up at her. "I owe him, Eva. He saved my life when the only family I knew left me to die. I only exist at his whim, so yes, I'm a bit dedicated with him and will do whatever he asks, that doesn't make it love."

With that, he angrily wheeled himself into the wheelchair, heading back down to his apartment.

Eva watched him go before snorting, leaning back against the stone wall, staring at the fluffy white clouds above her. "You can be a bitch and deny it all you want, Ask, but everyone knows you've fallen. Shame the first person to melt that cold heart is the one who doesn't have one."

--

_"Did you hear that?" Kiden asked, reaching out a hand to halt Pan's progress._

_"Hear what?" Pan asked in a whisper, trying to hear whatever it was that Kiden did. It took a moment, but he soon heard a faint sound, almost like a rat crawling through walls. "It's nothing."_

_Kiden ignored him, heading forward down the alley a few paces before moving several cardboard boxes. "Come here, help me." Kiden demanded._

_Pan rolled his eyes at the teenager's back before helping un-cover whatever it was Kiden wanted. As the last of the boxes were removed, Pan finally got a good look at what had attracted Kiden's attention. _

_On the ground before them, slumped in the snow, was a young child, no older then nine or ten, his breathing harsh and ragged, clothes wet, torn and stained with blood. His pant legs ended abruptly, raggedly torn off, revealing pale, skinny legs that also ended rather abruptly. _

_Pan gagged, covering his mouth as he tried desperately not to vomit at the sight of the muscle and bone showing just below where the boy's knees should have been (and Pan was wondering, slightly manically, how one could be missing knees if they had lower legs). He looked up at Kiden, who was staring at the boy with a lost, haunted look on his face. _

_Suddenly the boy shifted, gagging on the blood in his mouth, trying to spit it out, but only succeeding on dribbling it down his chin. Dark eyelashes fluttered, before opening just a touch, revealing startling green eyes. The boy gagged again, spitting out more blood before managing to breath without swallowing his own vital fluids. "Kaitou," he gasped out and raised a trembling hand. A weak hand, clutching a very bloody revolver._

_A blood slick hand struggled to pull down the hammer, managing the action as the two adults stood frozen, starting at the child. The boy pulled back the trigger, and the gun made a wet clicking noise. The gun remained trained on Kiden for a moment, before the boy's arm fell into the snow next to him, and the boy's head fell back. "Fucking blood," he whispered._

_"What's your name," Kiden said, kneeling down in front of the boy who had just tried to kill him with a blood clogged gun, which Kiden gently reached out and moved away from the child, setting it near Pan's foot so the man could safely un-load whatever bullets were in the revolver._

_The child was silent, his eyes distant and hazy, before slowly coming back into focus. "Yuki," the boy whispered, coughing on his blood again, before allowing himself to fall further back into the snow, giving into it's willing embrace._

_Kiden gave a soft smile, pulling a set of terry cloth towels from his jacket, un-tying them from each other and gently lifting up one of Yuki's mutilated legs. "Keep talking to me, Yuki. How do you know me?"_

_Yuki coughed violently, shivering suddenly, even after Kiden laid his jacket over him. "M..Mother told me, you died." Yuki said, spitting up more blood, gasping as Kiden used a piece of wood from a broken crate to tighten the towel around Yuki's left leg, cutting off the blood flow._

_"Your mother?"_

_"Chianti."_

_Kiden jerked slightly at the name, causing Yuki to gasp as the action over tightened the tourniquet. "Your mother is a member of the Black Organization?"_

_Yuki coughed, before grinning again. "So's daddy, so's me." Yuki said, the cultured tones he had earlier fading as his consciousness did. _

_"Kiden.."_

_Kiden looked up from the un-conscious child, lifting up the second leg to create another tourniquet. "Yes?"_

_"Why are you saving him?" Pan asked in a hiss. "He recognizes you, he tried to kill you."_

_"He's ten, Pan."_

_"That doesn't matter, not to a child like this who has been raised in the Organization, you know that."_

_Kiden slowed in his movements, turning his attention back to the unconscious boy, staring at him. He reached out a hand, gently brushing it through Yuki's blond curls, trailing his fingers gently down the soft, smooth cheek. "I have to save him, Pan."_

_Pan stared at Kiden, before reaching out, and touching Kiden's arm. "Kiden...you do _know_ that this isn't Saguru, don't you?"_

_"Of course I do, Pan." Kiden shook the older man's hand off his arm, before resting his forehead in his hand, angrily running his fingers through his hair. "But that doesn't stop my heart from crying out when I look at him." Kiden returned to tying off Yuki's leg before gathering the small form in his arms, holding him close. "Come on, let's go."_

_--_

Eden jerked awake with a gasp, clutching at his chest. He tried to control his breathing, calming himself. He rubbed his chest, turning slightly to glance at the boy in bed next to him. He hadn't thought about the moment he discovered Ask in over a year, not since he reminded the teen about it on his birthday.

Shaking, he stood up, drawing a thick robe around his body as he moved across the small apartment, slipping into the seat reserved for him at the computers. He wheeled himself over to the main monitor, adjusting the feeds until the one reserved solely for his family came up, taping his password into the keyboard to ring up the inner house feeds.

He leaned back in his seat, watching the four-way screens as he studied each member of his family, resting his chin in his hand. Against his will, his other hand reached out, gently tracing the shadowy bodies of his other half and lover, smiling as Kaito curled closer to Saguru's slumbering form, before his eyes drifted down to Akako and Conan, wondering when his brother went and grew up.

From the darkness behind him, two green eyes watched, as their owner's love watched someone else sleep.


	5. Serenade of a Shallow Death

**Chapter Five: Serenade of a Shallow Death**

_If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance. -George Bernard Shaw_

"I'm horny," Lily said, wrapping her arm around Eden's neck and pressing up against him.

Eden grinned, leaning his head down to brush his lips over Lily's lips, using his tongue to gently open her lips, groaning as her tongue met his. He shifted them, heading towards the edge of the dance floor, intending to lead her in back, when he bumped into another couple, too busy trying make-out then pay attention to where they were going.

Eva gave Eden a shove, smirking at his apologetic look, angling Pan out of the way. "And you're a great thief?" she teased, avoiding his hand darting at her head.

Eden took Lily's hand instead of her mouth, leading her through the dancers before heading for the back room again, snagging his wallet from the table the gang had as they passed. Lilly pressed him up against the wall the moment the curtain closed behind them, plastering her body to his.

"You have a stalker, by the way." she whispered as she nibbled on his ear.

"Oh?"

Lily nodded, turning them around so Kid could lift her up on his hips, his hands sliding under her skirt, tickling her thighs. "He's been following you all night," she hissed, as Kid's hands removed the clips of her left garter.

"Anyone we know?"

Lily shook her head, and straightened out her leg so Kiden could better reach the knife she hid against her thigh. "He's new, or at least, I don't recognize him."

"Did he follow us?" Kiden asked, brushing his lips against hers as he ground up against her.

"Behind you, over your left shoulder, hidden in the darkness of a doorway."

Kiden nodded and gave her another kiss before suddenly letting go of her, turning and throwing the knife in the direction she indicated. There was a cry of pain from the shadows and Lily slipped a butterfly knife from the side of her top, flipping it open as she rose from her crouch, walking with Eden as they moved into the shadows.

A penlight appeared in Eden's hands and he knelt, shining the light on the figure's face, frowning. "It's Korn." Eden murmured, before retrieving the knife he threw from the man's stomach."

"Should we get rid of him?"

Eden stared at the man for a moment before standing, pulling a small towel from his pocket. "Do me a favor and handle it? I don't want to get dirty," he flashed Lily a grin and headed back for the club, listening for the sounds of wet blood hitting the floor and walls as Lily slit the assassin's throat.

He took a seat at the table next to Ask, reaching out and brushing his hands through the boy's blond curls.

"Enjoy yourself?" Ask asked, sipping his drink.

"Mm, not as much as I would have with you." Kiden said with a smile, leaning in to brush his lips over Ask's.

--

"Hello, Kudo Kitsuka? This is the Kyoto Family Registry office. I'm fine, thank you, but I was doing an annual review of your registry and noticed a mistake with your son, Kudo Yuki's birthplace...Oh, you don't have a son? Do you happen to know if your branch of the Kudo family might have a child named Kudo Yuki? I would really like to get this on the right registry...uh huh, uh huh, thank you very much."

Conan pressed a button on his computer to disconnect the call, looking up at Saguru who was watching him as he made notes in a case file. "Apparently, Kudo Yuki is the son of a Kudo Kogami," he said, replying to Saguru's un-asked question. He lifted the small mouthpiece that had been changing his voice, once more returning to the pre-teen male he was instead of an older female. "And according to the registry mum emailed me, Kudo Kogami is my father's cousin."

"So, you are related to this boy," Saguru said, stroking his chin.

"Why are you so interested in this?" Conan asked, shutting down some applications on his laptop, returning to his homework.

"Because I want to know why this boy was in your sister's bed. Not to mention, he's curious in and of himself. There's no record of him, no birth, no schooling, he simply appears and disappears at will, without leaving a trace."

"Until now," Conan said, glancing at the picture next to him, staring at the blond in a wheelchair, caught on a video camera. Conan frowned, lifting the picture and turning back to his laptop, clicking through a few applications before bringing up another picture, glancing back and forth between the picture in his hand, and the one on the screen. "Ne, Saguru, maybe you should find out from your parents if _they_ know a Kudo Yuki."

"Why is that?"

Conan turned the laptop around, displaying Saguru's photo from his graduation, before holding up the picture of Ask. "Because he looks a lot like you."

--

It was odd, for Eden to touch Ask without wanting something in return, mainly sex. Not that Eden wasn't a tactile person, in fact, he was very much one. Touch, next to food, was what nourished him. He always touched people, from holding Lily's hand to curling with Bohdie, even Pan wasn't safe, as Eden more often then not leaned against the taller man when he could.

He touched everyone, except Ask.

The last real time Ask could remember Eden touching him, outside a fight or the bedroom, would be the day Eden saved his life. Ask had come to in a cold, white hospital room, terrified and rather violent. The didn't have the drugs to sedate him and were attempting to strap the ten-year-old down to the bed, when Eden stepped in, climbing into the bed behind Ask and holding the boy tightly, whispering in his ear as the saw started that would remove the dead and dying flesh from the lower half of his body.

Ask often wondered why, he was the one excluded from the sensation fest, a bit jealous as he watched Eden interact with the others, and starving himself for the touch he never got. It wasn't just that he wanted Eden, it was just...now one really touched him, and hadn't for as long as he could remember.

So, it was rather odd, to wake up one morning, sleepily floating on the hazy half awake state that came from a good night's sleep, to find hands lazily tracing up his spine. His fist reaction was to freeze up, survival instincts long ingrained into his body, but as the fingers lightly traced down his spine, veering off every once in a while over a scar left over from the attempt on his life, Ask could feel his body slowly relax, soothed under the gentle touch.

Warm oil was suddenly dripped onto his back, pooling in the small indention where his spine curved. Hands slid through the pool, coating and spreading, before fingers dug in slightly to his back, causing Ask to groan as Eden's hand started to work out the kinks from sitting in a wheelchair all day. Usually his massages came from his physical therapist, or on a rare occasion, Lily or Eva, but the feeling of Eden's talented fingers across his back relaxed the teenager far better then any of the other three could.

As his back relaxed, muscles becoming a liquidy soup, those slick hands moved down, sliding over his bare body to his thighs, tense after another attempt at learning to walk with prosthetics. He gave a whimper, pressing his body more into the bed beneath him, hissing at Eden hit a particularly knotted bit of muscle, before letting out an easing breath as the pain flowed away and pleasure flowed into his body.

--

"You can't keep this from him, Saguru." Conan said, looking up from his homework.

"I have to, Conan. This would destroy him if we're wrong." Saguru countered, shuffling reports, resisting the urge to start banging his head on the solid oak and marble desk. Who knew quitting your job would have so many loose ends.

"Kaito deserves to know that Kiden might be alive. It destroyed him, when he died...faked his death, whatever. He didn't get out of bed for two months, he's STILL taking those damn anti-depressants."

"Yes, which is why I'm _not_ telling him until we're sure! What if we're wrong? What if this is some amazing coincidence and this is not Kiden? How much more would it take until I lose him too? I refuse to put him through that."

"Saguru..."

"No, Conan. I need to do this for me, because I need to know if he really is still out there, if he...if he had reason for this. I can handle being disappointed, Kaito cannot." With that, Saguru returned his attention to his paperwork, indicating the subject was closed.

--

"Things are moving faster then I expected if they're already sending assassin's after you." Pan muttered, sipping his beer as he watched Eva on the dance floor.

"I know, I thought I'd have at least another month." Eden muttered. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes tightly. "This is it, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"This is the start, after this..everything changes."

"You knew it was coming, Eden, you put the ball in motion."

Eden was silent for a moment, picking at the label of his beer before looking up at Pan. "Do you ever regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"Joining me. Know that you've painted a target across your back."

Pan looked up at Eva, watching her for a moment before looking back at Eden, running his fingers through the boy's hair. "I left my doubts in Italy, when you asked me to join you, Eden. I knew when we wired that building that my life would always be on the line. So no, I don't regret joining you."

Eden smiled and leaned against Pan, watching Ask at the bar before sighing. "Let's go upstairs, I need you to help me with something."

--

"You know, the Superintendent isn't happy about having a civilian on this case again." Nakamori said, taking a seat across from Saguru, lighting his cigar.

"Is this your pathetic attempt to get me back?" Saguru asked with a smile, setting an ashtray in front of the older man, taking his seat again and studying the man.

"No, that was just me commenting, my pathetic attempt is this," Nakamori said, offering Saguru a thick manila envelope.

Saguru took the envelope, breaking the seal on the back and sliding free the documents inside, scanning over them. "You're offering me a job...again?" he asked, glancing up at the other man.

Nakamori nodded, taking a puff of his cigar. "We need you, Saguru, you were the best we had, not to mention the gang unit wants you back. Think about it, Saguru. You were best, when you were chasing Kid."

"Kid's dead, Ginzo, so how am I supposed to be that way again?"

"Are we sure?" Nakamori asked softly, sliding a plastic envelope across the desk.

Saguru raised an eyebrow, picking up the plastic coated letter, eyes scanning over the words before heading back to the top, slowly digesting what he was reading. "They lay beneath the chapel stair, then on a rubbish heap. Two flowers cut from a strangle-vine, and buried in a vase. Or were they?" Saguru's eyes darted up to Nakamori, who waved him on, taking another puff of his cigar.

"Naught remains but an ink-pot; a rumour on feathered wings. Ghostly darkly 'cross newly pure snow. He's heading to London?"

"That's what the big brains down at the station say."

--

"Flight BA0006, Narita to Heathrow is boarding now at Gate L, Flight BA006, Narita to Heathrow is boarding now at Gate L."

"That's us," Saguru said, standing and grabbing his travel case and laptop.

Conan yawned, standing and grabbing his own bag, nudging Kaito who had fallen asleep. The magician awoke with a snort, grabbing his bag and passport, double checking his cellphone to make sure the freight flight with his equipment had taken off before following Saguru, who had gotten in line behind a boy curled in an old Victorian era wheelchair.

"Koizumi Eden and Tanaka Ask, we've been waiting for you." the stewardess said, giving the pair a bow and leading them onto the plane.

"He looks familiar," Kaito murmured, tilting his head to the side.

"He should, he was your prey two date nights ago." Saguru muttered, following the pair onto the plane after having their passports checked.

"Oh yeah..." Kaito suddenly got a wicked grin on his face and Saguru slapped him upside the head. They took their seats, just a few rows back from the pair in front of them.

Eden glanced over his shoulder and grinned, waving at them before being jerked down by his companion who glared at him. Saguru snorted, setting his travel case under the seat in front of him, before pulling out his laptop, starting work on the new case file, wondering why the hell he was chasing after a ghost.

"Are you sure they're going to like me?" Kaito said softly, staring out the window. It was rare for Kaito to show his self-doubt, but something that had happened more and more as time passed since Kiden's death.

"They're going to love you, Kaito. Just like they do here. Just like I do." Saguru said, leaning in to brush a kiss behind Kaito's ear.

"Hopefully not like you do," Kaito muttered with a smile.

--

"I'm going to go get a drink," Eden muttered and Ask snorted, flipping a page in his book. "Got something to say about it, pipsqueak?"

"Just curious as to what you're drinking," Ask said. "I saw him head into the back with that little slut of his."

Eden flicked Ask's ear. "We don't call Saguru a slut."

"I meant Kaito." Ask muttered, rubbing his ear.

Eden flicked his ear again before standing and heading for the back bathrooms and galley were located. Noticing that he had passed most of the stewards on the plane, he choose to check the galley first, smirking as he heard a familiar giggle behind the pulled curtain. Glancing back behind him, he jerked the curtain open, slipping in and shutting it, smiling sweetly at the shocked faces of Saguru and Kaito. "Mind a third?" he asked, stepping closer to the pair.

--

Ask looked up, as two aspirin hit the tray across the bars of his wheelchair. He raised an eyebrow at the brunette sitting next to him, before looking back at the aspirin. "What's this?"

"You look like you're in pain," Conan said, pulling a battered detective novel from his bag, opening it.

"I don't need your help," Ask said angrily, jerking on his own travel bag and pulling out a true-crime novel.

"No, but I might need yours." Conan said softly and Ask turned, glaring.

"Kudo Yuki, born in 1998 to Kudo Kogami and an un-named father, disappeared until he appears at the age of ten in Tokyo Memorial, suffering from a severe infection in his legs, the result of a surgery."

Ask stared at Conan, before snorting. "Kudo Shinichi, born in 1990 to Kudo Yuusaku and Kudo Yukiko , a great teen detective, known all over Japan until he mysteriously disappears one cold night in 2007 at Tropical Land. That same night a young boy named Edogowa Conan appeared, and was later connected with detectives Mouri Kogoro and Hakuba Saguru, currently dating Koizumi Akako, who is pregnant via artificial insemination of what rumours say, is Kudo Shinichi's child."

"You're good," Conan said, looking at Ask from the corner of his eye.

"It's in the genes." Ask said, before closing his book and raising his head, looking at the steward's chair before them. "What do you want, Shinichi?"

"I want to know what you have to do with a Suzuki Kidoko."

"She's my girlfriend." Ask said, sighing as he accepted the glass of ice and small bottle of rum from the steward. "Or at least, she used to be," he said as he poured the bottle into the glass, downing it.

"Problems in paradise?" Conan asked softly, studying his cousin's profile.

Ask laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "You should know by now, Shinichi, there is no paradise for us. Just empty dreams."

--

"Put that over there...no, your other left, Mitchell!" Kaito ran a hand through his hair, staring at the mess of boxes, bags and lockers that contained his London stage show. He sat down on a locked box, wiping sweat from his forehead and taking a long drink of the water next to him before jumping to his feet as something exploded, spraying the room with confetti. "This is ridiculous," he muttered, before heading to figure out what was going on.

He had grabbed a tray of wine-glasses used in the triple juggling act after sorting out the mess with his new assistants, heading over to the 'fragile' section of the warehouse, freezing when he spotted a figure in the open doorway.

Kiden brushed a lock of newly dyed and cut brown hair from his eyes, blinking at the dim interior of the warehouse before spotting who he was looking for, staring at Kaito. He gave a smile, shifting the strap of the messenger bag against his hip, jumping slightly as the tray of wine glasses Kaito had been holding went crashing to the floor.

Kiden rushed across the room grabbing Kaito's hand, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to try to stop the bleeding from a shard of glass in Kaito's palm. The magician blinked at him, eyes sightless, mouth moving though no words were leaving. Kiden had just wrapped Kaito's hand in the handkerchief when he heard something.

"Saguru..." Kaito whispered, before collapsing in Kiden's arms.

--

Ask stared at the thick wooden door that lead to the office of Hakuba Thomas, Chief Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police of London. Swallowing, he pushed open the door, wheeling himself inside and allowing the door to close itself behind him.

He stared at the portly man behind the desk, wheeling himself closer, flicking a lock of blond hair from his face. "Hello, father."


	6. Bitter Taste

**Chapter Six: Bitter Taste **

_Someone should sue Disney for planting the ideas in little kids heads that every girl has a prince and everything ends up happily ever after. -Author Unknown_

Hakuba Thomas was not often a man startled. One didn't make it this far in his profession by being taken by surprise. Granted, once or twice a case came along that made him blink, but rarely did he find the jaw dropping surprise one heard of.

That was, of course, until his supposedly dead seventeen-year-old son wheeled himself into Thomas' office, sitting across from him as if the boy had dropped in for Sunday tea.

"Yuki," Thomas said, recovering himself as he glanced beyond the boy and into the room beyond, wondering how many people had seen Yuki.

"You haven't called me that since I was seven, father." Ask said, smiling a bit as he watched the older man look behind him. "Relax, no one saw me come up, except your secretary of course, lovely woman, she must be new."

"Where have you been?"

"Not important. I want to know what your plans are for Kaitou Kid."

'To arres..."

"Don't play games, father. I'm not your subordinate you can speak pretty little lies to. What are your plans for Edogowa Kiden?"

"Well, I rather hoped to kill him, but we know how well that worked the first time. Survival seems to be a trait between you two."

"And nii-san? Will you kill him too, when he finds out that Kiden is really alive?"

"If necessary."

Ask blinked at this, taken by surprise. Their father had always considered Saguru his true son, the one graced with the family name and all that came with it. Saguru could do no wrong in Thomas' eyes, at least, until he started sleeping with the enemy. "Why?"

"Why what, Yuki?"

Ask opened his mouth, and then realized he didn't really have a question. Thomas has proven before that blood meant nothing to him. He had no problem getting rid of those in his way, even if the thorn in his side was his own child. "I can't stop him."

"You mean you won't."

Ask shrugged, remaining silent.

"I will kill you both, you do realize that, don't you?"

"It wouldn't be the first time, father. Will you make sure it sticks this time?"

"Of course. I don't like loose ends."

Ask nodded, his business done. He started to wheel himself backwards, intending to leave, when his father's voice stopped him.

"Why do you even care, Yuki? What's so special about him that he melted that cold heart of yours?"

Ask smiled at his father, his head tilting slightly. "I'm a teenager, am I not supposed to rebel against my parents?"

"Is that what this is? A rebellion?" Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow at his youngest son.

Ask shrugged, the innocent look fading from his face like a broken mask. "May I ask you something and have you answer it honestly?"

Thomas waved his hand, a careless gesture for Ask to continue, not promising to answer, honestly or otherwise, but curious as to what the boy would ask.

"Why did you remove me from the Genesis Project? Why did you order mother to kill me?"

Thomas leaned in closer to the boy, resting his chin on his hands. "You asked for one question, that's two." Thomas said, before running a hand through his thinning brown hair. "But, I will answer. I removed you from the project, because you were becoming a liability. Kiden was coming too close, and with him, your brother. I could not have either of you two meet. I had intended to re-assign you to technology, before you're little...tantrum."

Ask looked away, wincing slightly as Thomas mentioned the boy's outburst when he found out he had been removed from the project he had been working on for four years. He had acted...like the spoiled ten year old boy he was at the time.

"As for your mother...who better? She was the best assassin at my disposal, and she was getting to attached to you anyway. It was weakening her."

"She didn't, you know. Well, she tried, but in the end...she turned me over to Vodka." Ask's hand trembled and he clenched it against his thigh, willing the sign of weakness away. "She left me with him, for a week, before he finally dumped me on the side of the road. There were nights I were begging for death, if just to get away from him."

"That wasn't what I intended, Yuki."

"Yeah...but you didn't care much when you found out, did you?" Ask turned his wheelchair, leaving his father behind, and the last traces of his life as a Black Organization member.

--

Soft, gentle lips slid over Kaito's jaw and cheek, gently caressing the smooth skin as if the kisser was trying to map out every small millimeter by feel. The lips gently caressed the closed eyelids, pausing for a moment to brush over temple and forehead, before darting down a nose and finally, meeting their match.

Kiden's hand gently caressed the side of Kaito's face and jaw as his lips moved over his other half's, the feel of warm, moist breath darting over his lips as Kaito breathed. Kid shifted, moving closer to Kaito, wrapping his legs around the other's as he pressed their bodies close, his tongue darting out for a taste, a groan spilling from his lips as memories seven years old burst forth in his mind.

He wiggled even closer, almost laying on top of the other man as his fingers slid into wild brunette strands, gently massaging the scalp as he nibbled on those delicious lips, lounge darting out again for another sneak taste.

"You know, generally one must be conscious to give consent. Otherwise it's considered rape," an amused voice said.

Kid opened one eye to glare at his boyfriend before returning to snuggling the un-conscious Kaito, ignoring Ask as the teenager wheeled himself into the room and over to the desk, opening the waiting laptop to check up on news both in London and back home in Tokyo.

Growing bored with his non-responsive twin, Kid settled for simply holding Kaito tighter then he should, watching the blond. "How did things go at the embassy?"

Ask shrugged, not taking his eyes off the monitor. "They're still fucking around with my visa, but so long as you get things done within six months, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Eva and Pan should be arriving tonight, by the way, and Lily is upstairs."

Kiden nodded, resting his head on Kaito's chest. It felt odd, to be doing something without Bohdie helping him along. For so long he had her right by his side and now to some stupid loophole that they couldn't get around, Bohdie was stuck in Japan while the rest of them trapezed around Britain. Kiden swore, the first thing he was doing when he was returning to Japan, was to find a forger to add to the group. Kiden was good, but there were still some documents he could not reproduce, and travel visa's were one of them for some odd reason.

"How long are you going to keep him here?" Ask finally questioned after a moment of silence, watching Kiden and Kaito in the mirror. He had to admit, his brother did have fine taste in lovers. "Hakuba-san will notice he's missing eventually."

"Only a bit. He passed out before I could talk to him and I don't think leaving him there to think he imagined the whole thing would be good for his health."

"Well, you had better think of a way to wake him soon, because last I saw of your detective he was heading towards Kaito's warehouses to help him un-pack." Ask said off-hand, smiling as he heard a thump that indicated Kiden had fallen out of bed.

"What?! Why didn't you say something earlier?!"

"Because it amuses me to watch you run around like a headless chicken." Ask said with a shrug, ducking the smack Kiden aimed at him. "Now run along and play nice, I want a nap."

Kiden grumbled under his breath as he stripped Kaito of pants, shirt and shoes, trying to dress and run out the door at the same time, all the while cursing Ask's ancestry. Ask held out the keys to their rented car, waving merrily at the thief who dashed out the door. The teenager shook his head before setting his laptop to download a few telly shows, pulling off his shirt as he wheeled himself closer to to the bed. He eyed the man hogging most of it before nudging Kaito's limp body over, sliding into the bed and pulling the blankets up around him, yawning as jet lag hit him hard. Rolling over, he wrapped an arm around Kaito's waist, smiling slightly as the other man shifted, closer to waking even with the added effects of Kiden's sleeping gas. Nuzzling Kaito's neck, Ask soon fell asleep, images of hyperactive brunettes in his head.

--

Kaito's eyes slowly blinked, his nose wrinkling at the too sweet taste in his mouth. He blinked again, realizing that this wasn't his bedroom at home, nor the bedroom he shared with Saguru at the Hakuba Estate. He stilled, as his hand rested on something that was even stranger...another body next to him, and a body that he wasn't familiar with.

"Relax and go back to sleep," Ask muttered, shifting a bit to put room between himself and Kaito, grumpy and eager to go back to sleep.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Kaito grumbled, propping himself up on his elbows and looking down at the teenager who cracked a green eye open long enough to glare before flipping over so he could attempt sleep again.

He growled as Kaito started poking at him, before pulling himself up into a sitting position. "Do you _mind_?"

"Yes. Who are you, where am I..." Kaito paused, looking under the blanket before glaring at Ask. "And where are my pants?"

"Tanaka Ask, The Shaftesbury, and Eden has them, now Shut. Up."

"Who the fuck is Eden?!"

Ask groaned, burring his head under a pillow. "Koizumi Eden, or as you would know him, Edogowa Kiden, now for the love of..." He was cut off as Kaito snatched the pillow, staring at him in shock.

"Kiden?" Kaito said and Ask jerked up as the other man started to hyperventilate.

"Whoa! Breathe!" Ask demanded, before smacking Kaito a few times, not in the mood to be nice. "Yes, Kiden, your other half, the psycho twin of your soul, whatever."

"Impossible, he's dead." Kaito said, once he was able to speak.

Ask groaned. "Why does no one ever think that he might have _faked_ his death? Honestly, it's the most obvious thing in the world and you all go merrily along assuming what you see is reality. You're a fucking _magician_! You should know better."

"He...he faked his death? _Why_?!"

Ask shrugged. "You'd have to ask him, not my place to say.

"But..."

"Kaito, please...just...leave it. Really. Kiden will be back soon enough and you can ask him _then_."

There was a moment of silence, and then Kaito shifted, looking at Ask who was already glaring at him. "How do you know Kiden?"

"I'm his whore, now _please_ shut up." Ask said, and instead of covering his head with a pillow, he put it on Kaito's, laying on the other man. Thankfully for Kaito's health, Kiden walked in then, grumbling under his breath about annoying detectives as he pulled off Kaito's shirt, tossing it at his twin, his other hand dropping a bag of candy on Ask's stomach. Ask blinked and picked up the bag, studying it for a moment before opening the plastic bag worth of three pounds of candy, studying them.

Inside the bag was one of Ask's greatest weaknesses, Necco Sweetheart Conversation Hearts, but, unlike most bags of bulk candy one could find in any candy store, these hearts were specially picked to only feature Ask's favorite flavor, wintergreen. He blinked at the three pounds of green candy before glancing at Kiden who was too busy stripping to notice. Ask allowed a small smile to cross his face, taking one of the hearts and popping it onto his mouth, sucking on the sweet, smile vanishing as Kiden approached the bed, managing to wiggle between them, his back to Ask as he stared at Kaito.

Kaito blinked at the familiar eyes, studying the small changes in Kiden that had happened over the past seven years. He wanted to believe it was a lie, that this was some horrible trick and the mask that looked like his other half would be pulled away while everyone laughed.

But as the silence stretched, he realized that this wasn't a joke and that wasn't a mask. He reached up brushed his hand over Kiden's cheek, trailing his fingers down over the other man's lips, chin and throat, before his hand tightened and Kiden suddenly found himself on his back, a knife pressed to his throat just above Kaito's hand, teary blue eyes staring down at him.

"Why?" Kaito asked brokenly.

Ask blinked at the pair, wondering if he should intervene, before deciding it wasn't worth it and going back to his candy. Kiden reached up, touching Kaito's face with one hand, pushing with the other to remove the knife from his throat, pulling it from Kaito's rather slack grip.

"Because I had to try," Kiden whispered, before lifting up, kissing Kaito, pouring seven years of pain and loss into the kiss. He pulled away after a moment, smiled at the slightly dazed look on Kaito's face.

"Try...what?" Kaito asked, lowering himself onto Kiden so their bodies were fully touching.

"To keep you save, it's what I _do_, Kaito. Remember, my whole creation was to protect _you_. They made me an offer, a promise that if I died, you would be safe."

"Why didn't you _tell_ us?"

"Because it didn't matter. Would you have really just let me walk away and never speak to me or see me again?"

"We wouldn't have had to..."

"Yes, we would have, Kaito. I had to be _dead_, meaning I couldn't be in you life anymore. If you knew I was still alive, you would have tried to have me in your life, you would have given a sign to them, that I didn't hold up my end and that would have ended up with _you_ paying the price."

"So...why now? Why did you reveal yourself now? Everything was fine until now."

"Because we forgot something, Kaito."

"Huh?"

"Pandora, gem that supposedly gives immortal life? The whole _reason_ your father died and you became Kaitou Kid? Idiot." Ask muttered, earning a dual glare from the pair before Kaito frowned, blinking, realizing the two were right.

He couldn't believe they were right. He couldn't believehe forgot in everything that had happened, in the seven years after...that he had left the search for Pandora behind. He stared, his eyes blank as he mentally beat the shit out of himself for such a thing.

Kiden raised his hand, threading it through Kaito's thick strands of hair, pulling sharply and smiling when the boy growled, focusing back on the now. "It's alright, Kaito. This has actually been a good thing, we have resources now, we have partners willing to help us. We'll find the stupid gem, destroy it and everything will be fine."

Ask snorted and Kiden glared at him. "What?"

Ask looked at them, before lazily selecting a candy, popping it into his mouth and sucking on it, turning it around a few times in his mouth before deciding to reply. "The Genesis Project has been going on for longer then even your father was alive. If they hadn't found it, what makes you think any of us can?"

"Genesis Project?" Kaito questioned, reminding the pair that he was new to what they knew.

"The Genesis Project is a group of the Black Org that exists above and beyond any other. Even the head of the BO defers to them. They are the ones responsible for the BO's search for immortality, via every method they can find, Pandora, Mermaid Skin, Elixirs, The Fountain of Youth, so on and so forth. Everything that the BO is and does, is to fuel their search." Ask said, in between eating the small candy hearts.

Kaito blinked, staring at the blond teenager. He glanced at Kiden before looking back at Ask, confused. "How do you even _know_ that?" He asked, curious considering how much information Saguru, Conan, Heiji and himself had come up with before Kiden's death and none of that was even hinted at.

"Because I was one of them," Ask said, offering a candy heart to Kiden, fighting a smile as the thief wrapped his mouth around Ask's fingers, sucking the candy heart into his mouth. "From the age of six until ten, I was one of their researcher's."

Kaito stared, trying to figure out what to think about such an admission.

--

"A single female victim, found by the night guard as he was closing up."

Saguru rubbed the bridge of his nose, staring at his boss, well, former boss, no matter how many times Edward refused to accept his resignation. "You called me down here for a murder? This is London, Edward, murder isn't exactly surprising."

"Follow me," Edward said, crooking a finger before turning and heading through the indoor market, weaving his way through booths and people alike.

Saguru sighed and followed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his overcoat, wondering what the hell his boss had been smoking to think that a murder case would interest him. He blinked as he approached the scene, raising a hand to block out the smell, gagging slightly. A young officer near-by offered him a jar of menthol rub, which Saguru accepted with a nod of thanks, using a bit under his nose to block the smell, before pulling a pair of gloves from his inner pocket, pulling them on as he ducked under the crime scene tape. "Dear lord," he breathed, staring at the sight.

The victim was laid out, her left arm up over her left breast, with her legs drawn up so that her feet were resting on the floor, toes pressed up against a booth to keep them in that position, though the knees bowed out a bit. The woman's face was swollen, and turned towards the right, though thankfully someone had closed her eyes so that she wasn't staring at them.

Saguru knelt, careful not to stand in the blood pools, gently turning the woman's face, wincing as he saw the lounge poking out at him, swallowing and lifting the woman's head, studying the gaping wound across her neck.

"The wound on her neck and the one in her abdomen were done by the same weapon, possibly six to eight inches in length." Edward said, kneeling next to Saguru. Edward gestured with a hand, careful not to touch the body as he didn't have a glove. "They start at the left and move right, along with the other wounds, indicating a left handed perpetrator."

Saguru nodded in agreement, before taking a steadying breath, and turning his attention back to the rest of the woman. Her abdomen was entirely slid open and bared, her intestines removed and placed on her shoulder. He swallowed again, before gently reaching into the victim, feeling around for a moment before cursing. "Any sign of..."

Edward shook his head. "The uterus, part of her bladder and vagina are missing." he confirmed.

Saguru cursed again, removing his hand from the victim and pulling off the glove, tossing it into an evidence bag an officer held out. "This is the second one."

Edward nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. "I had hoped that I had just been imagining things, reading too much into it but..."

"Coincidence doesn't work that way." Saguru said before brushing a lock of black hair from the woman's face. "Did she have any ID?"

"Yes, in fact, she had two." Edward made a gesture and an officer handed over four pieces of ID to the man, whom passed them over to Saguru.

Saguru blinked, studying the four pieces of identification, each picture matching the woman before them. "Britney Brown, place of residence, Beverly Hills California." he read, matching the California driver's license to the Japanese Visa which stated that Britney was currently living in Japan on a student visa. "Lilith Capone, residence Tokyo Japan." He frowned at the Japanese driver's license, flipping to the United Kingdom visa which said that Lilith Capone was currently visiting the UK on a work visa."

"Wonder which one is real," Edward murmured.

"Both," Saguru said, ignoring Edward's look. "Somewhere between the United States and Japan, she managed to get a false identity, but the identity is still her, as far as the Japanese government is concerned, as these are real."

"We called the hotel she had in her date book, she's registered there with a block of rooms rented out by one Koizumi Eden."

"That name is becoming far too familiar," Saguru muttered.

--

Kiden blinked as there came a sharp knock at the door, followed by a thickly accented voice stating that it was the hotel manager. Ask shrugged as Kiden looked at him, before pushing himself out of the bed and into his wheelchair, allowing Kiden out of the bed.

The thief wiggled out of the bed, pulling on his own pants as he opened the door, blinking at the uniformed man, and the two men with him, before cursing. "Come on in," he muttered, turning away from the door and allowing the two detectives into the room.

Saguru entered, confused as to why his lover was in the man's hotel room before blinking in shock, as he stared at Kiden and Kaito, now highly confused. Edward dismissed Saguru's confusion, staring at the twins and the kid in a wheelchair before displaying his badge. "We're looking for a Eden Koizumi," he said, glancing at each man.

Kiden raised his hand, tilting his head. "I'm Eden, what's up?"

"Can we see your ID and visa's?" Saguru asked, finding his voice.

Kiden and Ask looked at each other, before finding their wallets and the requested information, handing them over to the blond.

Saguru studied them for a moment, before waving in a uniformed officer who had been lurking in the hall. "Arrest them."

"On what charge?!" Kaito said, moving in front of Kiden.

"Entering the country under false pretenses."

"..what?" Kiden said, trying to follow that.

"Your identifications are fake, well, they're legally obtained, but under false pretenses thus, they're invalid."

"I...what?" Ask sputtered, having never faced this before.

"Saguru, are you sure?"

"I should be, considering I've lived with one of them for over a year and I know the other's family." Saguru said.

"Saguru-chan..." Kiden started.

Saguru however, turned and left, leaving behind the three and two very confused police officers.

--

"Edward let them go," Kaito said, staring at the back of his lover's head. Saguru remained silent, and Kaito frowned, moving around, to stare at Saguru's face. He sighed and reached out, plucking the glass of whiskey from his lover's hand, downing it before sitting on the blond's lap. "He told them one of their friend's died."

Saguru's only action was to wrap an arm around Kaito's waist, holding him while he poured another glass of whiskey.

"You should have been there, Saguru. He needed you. I've never seen him so...broken." Kaito whispered, before laying his head on Saguru's shoulder. "I want him home."

"It's too late for that, Kaito. He made his own choice, has a different life."

"I don't care, I want him home. Now."

--

Kiden held Ask tightly as the teenager cried in his sleep, his own heart torn and twisted with the news that Lily had been murdered. He buried his face in Ask's hair, trying to keep out the sense of lose and pain that came with the thought, trying to pretend, if just for a moment, that everything was normal.

He knew, realistically, that not all of them would survive to see the end of their game. The odds were stacked against _any_ of them surviving and Kiden was prepared for that. He just didn't expect it to happen so soon...or so randomly. He had expected his little gang to die fighting the good fight, not be victims of a senseless serial killer.

But she was, and now Kiden had to figure out how to tell Eva and Pan. How to tell Bohdie they lost another family member, had to watch, as Honua broke down. Kiden had faced many things, but he didn't know how to face that. He didn't even know if he could, but he was their leader, and it was his job to be the strong one, no matter how much he just wanted to run away.

Brushing his fingers through Ask's hair, Kiden gently tilted the boy's head up, thumbs brushing away the tears as he placed a gentle kiss against the boy's lips before pulling the covers up over them, shielding them from the horrors of reality. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he could deal with everything, but right now...he just wanted to escape. He closed his eyes, allowing sleep to overcome him.

The room was silent for a moment, before Kiden's eyes opened again, rather confused. He sat up, glancing around before running a hand through his hair. "Where am I?"

**Note:** As there is some confusion, Kiden is the same guy we've known since Magician's Waltz. Eden is his alternate name that he now uses (except now because Saguru, Conan, Akako, Aoko and Kaito know him as Kiden), Kidoko is his female persona that he uses while cross-dressing.


	7. Silent Alter of a Nameless God

**Note: ** Remember what I said at the end of the last chapter? Yeah, you can forget it right about...now.

**Chapter Seven: Silent Alter of a Nameless God**

"_My significant other right now is myself, which is what happens when you suffer from multiple personality disorder and self-obsession." -Joaquin Phoenix_

Kidoko sat at the small dresser that served as her make-up mirror, staring at the woman that served as her reflection. Every detail was picture perfect, the ideal image of a young blond woman. It was only if you looked under the surface, that you realized what you saw wasn't what was there.

She sighed, drumming her fingers against the top of the dresser, looking away from the image it reflected. It had been a day since she woke up in the unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed. Since then, she had managed to remember what was going on, and why they weren't in their room in Japan. She wasn't sure exactly why she had woken up at all, but had a sinking sensation it had something to do with Lilith's death, which she could barely see in Kiden's memories.

She pushed herself out of her chair as she heard Ask stirring in bed, smiling fondly at the blond teenager before un-packing the case that held his prosthetic limbs, carefully setting them on the recliner chair. Once they were arranged, she started humming as she set up breakfast on the bed, leaning over her boyfriend to gently nibble on his ear, coaxing him awake. She smiled brightly, gently kissing him as his eyes fluttered open, before sliding into bed next to him, curling up against Ask as she adjusted his pillows so that the teenager could sit up.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I ordered you eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes and some weird British breakfast that involves beans." She said, poking at the said beans with her chopsticks before smiling at Ask again, kissing him before offering a strawberry, dipping the cream covered fruit against the teens lips, licking her own as Ask's lips parted and the strawberry passed between them.

She snugged even closer, almost laying on Ask as she cut off a piece of waffle, gently dipping it into the syrup, allowing the sticky fluid to drip onto Ask's lips, stealing a lick before feeding him the bite, licking the droplet that escaped. "You're so cute," she said, giggling as she leaned closer, kissing Ask again, this time not bothering with the food as she hungrily feasted from his mouth. "I love you," she whispered, not bothering to wait for a reply as she kissed him again, Ask's breakfast being sacrificed in order for her to climb fully on her boyfriend, eager to wake him up in a more pleasant manner.

--

"I love you too," Saguru said with a smile, gently kissing Kaito as the brunette climbed back up the bed. Saguru rolled them slightly so that Kaito was laying next to him, gently petting the other man's body in the afterglow of their morning tryst, stealing gentle kisses as Kaito's breathing calmed down, before simply holding his lover.

Kaito rested against Saguru's sweaty back, humming contently lazily reaching across the blond to steal the case file Saguru had fallen asleep with, flicking it open. He grimaced at a picture of the corpse before flipping quickly past it, instead focusing on the scene and evidence photos. "So why was this case keeping you up?"

Saguru made a face at his boyfriend's idea of pillow talk before pulling Kaito so that the magician was sitting between this thighs, resting against the head board. "I'm just...concerned. There's nothing to go on, excluding the copy cat factor."

"Copy cat?"

Saguru smiled, remembering just how little Kaito really knew about Saguru's culture, except the major things. "These murders have been identical to The White chapel Horror. He's even gone so far as to track down the exact locations...or as near as he can to where the original victims were killed."

"Jack the Ripper..." Kaito mused, staring at the papers in front of him before snorting. "Sure it's not actually the man himself?"

Saguru laughed, holding Kaito close. "I sincerely doubt that the man waited one hundred plus years to start killing again...if he was even still alive."

"After Kiden and Akako...I'd believe almost anything." Kaito said, ducking a swat from his boyfriend, cursing as he dropped the file, the papers spreading all over the bed. He frowned as he picked up a picture, staring at the image. "Saguru..."

"Hmm?"

"I know her."

"Of course you do, we've seen her with Kiden."

"No, I mean I know her...outside of Kiden. She was part of that group of victims we met at that FBI grief counseling session. Her parents were American's, murdered in a bar that the BO blew up shortly after Conan met Tequila."

Saguru snatched the photo, staring at the image of the raven haired woman, trying to place her in his memory, not that he remembered much of that time, besides trying to hold Kaito together. "Are you sure?"

Kaito nodded, loosing upset. "I met her for coffee a few times, she wanted to know more about Kiden..."

"Wait a minutes, was she the one I thought you were having an affair with?"

"Yes," Kaito said, elbowing Saguru in the ribs, still aggravated over that incident. Though he couldn't complain too much, the whole bitter fight and too many trips to couples counseling had lead to their date nights...and him finding Kiden again. "She was also the one who reacted rather violently when Anastasia committed suicide when it was discovered Kaitou Kid was really dead, we last saw her at Ana's funeral..." Kaito said softly, now looking sadly at the image in his hand. He had always wondered what had happened to the girl...and now he knew. His friend was dead.

--

"Heist, heist, oo, shiny lipstick, heist..." Kidoko mumbled, sorting through Kiden's suitcase, stealing the lipstick she found while searching for Kiden's heist notes, the only thing she couldn't get from Kiden's thoughts and memories.

"Damn boy has a bloody safe in his head, oh! Found you!" She grabbed the small folder, making a face at the gibberish written across the pages before straddling a chair, intent on deciphering the notes in order to pull off the heist.

She reached for a lollipop, glancing at the clock on the desk as she did, frowning as she realized she only had five hours to decode the notes and prepare for the heist. Shrugging, she popped the bright red sucker into her mouth, sucking happily as she turned her attention back to the papers, wiggling happily.

--

"Saguru-kun!" an heavily accented voice called in English.

Saguru turned and grinned, immediately wrapping his arms around the young woman that had called to him, almost squishing the small child in her arms. "Aoko-chan! You didn't tell me you were coming for the heist."

Aoko laughed, shifting the girl in her arms. "We thought we'd surprise you. Boss sent over a team to help with crowd control and we got offered...and then promptly cut loose for the night." she said as a young man joined them, wrapping an arm around Aoko's waist.

"Pierre, it's been a while." Saguru said, shaking the man's free hand.

"There's my darling angel!" a voice called happily, Kaito bounced up to the group, scooping the small child from Aoko's hands, spinning around his god daughter who giggled loudly.

"I see you're in good spirits," Aoko said, giving her best friend a wry look before slipping away from her husband and pulling Kaito away from their related lovers. "I thought you retired." She hissed, taking back her daughter, bouncing the girl.

"I am, I am!" Kaito said, waving his hands in protest. "There's...well..."

"There's well what, Kaito?"

"Kiden is alive." he said softly, not looking up at her, instead staring at his feet.

"Bullshit."

"It's true, I promise!"

Aoko snorted and turned away from Kaito, heading back to her husband, positive Kaito was lying. Kaito sighed, watching her go, wishing that the issue of Kid wasn't still between them.

--

Saguru glanced at the crowd surrounding the Tower of London, eyes automatically looking for _something_ that would give him a clue to where Kiden was. He frowned, uncomfortable with the fact that _anyone_ could be Kiden, and he couldn't exactly go around yanking at their faces, especially after Edward vetoed the idea, not comfortable with physical aggression against the crowd.

His eyes did another scan, taking note of the leggy brunette who had what looked like a giant blond viking wrapped around her waist, a duo of bald headed muscle men, one of whom was bent over, talking to a petite blonde woman...who turned and winked at Saguru before bouncing off, her long pigtails swinging as she disappeared into the crowd.

Saguru cursed and pushed his way through the crowd, heading after the blond, only to be confronted by the twin muscled boulders. "Excuse me, I need to get through."

The two peered at him, before looking at each other. "We don't speak English." they said together in Japanese, though their voices were accented tellingly with what sounded like an island trace.

"Move, by order of Scotland Yard." Saguru demanded in Japanese, only to have the pair blink at him in confusion.

The blond viking next to them whispered something in Italian and the pair parted, allowing Saguru through.

"Thank you," Saguru murmured, moving past.

"Good luck, Inspector Hakuba," The brunette woman called merrily in Japanese, wiggling her fingers as she and the viking walked off.

Saguru stared, debating whither to follow Kidoko or chase after the couple and demand answers, before turning to head after Kidoko...only to almost trip over a young man in a wheelchair. He blinked down at the boy, frowning. "Kudo Yuki."

"Inspector Hakuba," the teen greeted, before wheeling backwards enough to shift around Saguru. "You won't find her." He called over his shoulder. "Two minutes."

"Two..." Saguru glanced at his pocket watch and cursed, giving up on chasing Kidoko in order to head back to the knot of police officers and other officials who were also checking their watches and cellphones, glancing around nervously.

Saguru joined Kaito, who was shuffling a deck of cards in unique ways, entertaining the nervous officers. He smiled and kissed Kaito's cheek, before stealing the ace of spades from his lover's collar, flicking it into the air. "Cheater. Ready?"

Kaito stopped shuffling, staring up at the historical landmark in thought. "I'm not sure," Kaito said softly, giving Saguru a nervous look. "If you cuff him, let me know so I can drag him home."

Saguru nodded, bending to give Kaito a kiss when he noticed something moving on the top of the Tower. He lifted his head, staring at the nine ravens that were hopping around the battlements, curious as to how all nine got in one place, since the Tower Ravens had free reign of the grounds and it was rather hard to find more then one in one spot.

And then, the unthinkable, at least to the born and raised Briton occurred. The ravens took flight, turning into nine doves as they crossed over the heads of the crowd, each flying off in a different direction.

"Kiden..." Saguru growled, hoping desperately that the idiot thief did nothing to the actual Tower Raven's. The thief in question appeared in a crowd of smoke and confetti, bowing to the cheers of the crowd before leaping off the battlement he had been standing on, a thin wire connected to his back, allowing the lithe thief to repel down the side of the building before finding the window he wanted, merrily crashing through it and promptly knocking two guard to the floor.

Saguru and Kaito were already running into the tower, taking the back stairs up to the room Kiden was in, bursting through the heavy wooden door just as Kiden found that the small box he had been targeting was missing. The thief turned, staring at them before giving a salute, diving back out the window, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Kaito blinked, coughing through the smoke, before suddenly collapsing, a sleeping dart hanging from his neck. Saguru knelt, shifting Kaito to a better position. "Sorry," he whispered against his lover's ear before holstering his tranquilizer gun, heading back down the stairs at a more sedate pace. He ducked through a room, just as a group of officers went charging up the stairs after getting themselves un-tangled from the silly string and super glue that Ask had managed to get them tangled up in.

"You went through a lot off effort to get me alone, Inspector." Kiden said from the window where he was watching the crowd below who seemed confused by the two different Kids that were running around on the battlements.

Saguru reached out, grabbing Kiden's tie, jerking the thief close, pressing their mouths together harshly, drinking the thief from the mouth down, his hands sliding down to cup Kiden's ass, pressing their hips together hard, shoving Kiden back against the wall as the forgotten feel of the man against him.

Kiden moaned against Saguru's lips, gloved hands sliding up into Saguru's hair, gripping tightly as he pressed his body up against Saguru's, eagerly grinding against the detective as he whimpered, wanting more. It took a moment for him to remember where he was, before pulling away with a gasp, shoving Saguru off of him. "Stop, I can't do this, I have a boyfriend."

"So?" Saguru asked, knowing damn well Kiden had a boyfriend, that little blond twit who had almost ran over his foot earlier.

"So, I'm not going to have an affair with my ex, Inspector." Kiden said, straightening his suit.

"Excuse me?" Saguru said, wondering if he needed to get his hearing checked anytime soon. He couldn't have just heard what he thought he did.

Kiden finished straightening his tie before heading for the door. "I love him, Saguru. It's not worth it to lose him." With that, he gave a bow and vanished through the door, leaving Saguru staring after him.

In the shadows of the hallway, a young teenager wheeled himself backwards and towards the door, turning over what he just heard in his head.

--

"I've missed you," Kidoko purred in Ask's ear as the teenager finally made it back to their room.

"Oh really?" Ask asked, allowing Kidoko to seat herself in his lap.

"Mmmhmm," She purred, leaning in to nuzzle against Ask's neck, nibbling gently before sucking, gently lapping at the skin. She pulled Ask's head down, kissing him deeply, before pulling away and sliding from his lap, crossing over to the bed.

She crooked her finger at Ask, smiling at the boy followed her, Kidoko helping the teen onto the bed before laying him back against the pillows, straddling his hips with a grin, grinding down against him gently and rolling her hips as she reached under Ask's pillow for the bag of candies he had hid there.

She pulled out a handful, un-buttoning Ask's shirt and pushing it open, dumping the handful between his clavicles before picking one up between her teeth, sliding her body up his as she offered him the candy, their lips meeting before slowly sliding away from each other as Ask ate the heart. Kidoko absently reached to the table behind her, grabbing pill crusher she had put their earlier, grinding up three of the hearts to dust Asks chest with candy powder, lapping at it as the teenager moaned, wiggling under his lover, before Ask pulled Kidoko up, kissing her hungrily as his hands slid under her short tank top, pushing it up over Kidoko's head.

The girl giggled, sucking on Ask's tongue before pulling away, unbuttoning his shirt. "Tomorrow, let's check out of here and head up to Scotland," Kidoko whispered against his neck, biting and sucking on the flesh offered to her.

"Why Scotland?" Ask questioned, slightly breathless by the torture on his neck.

"So we can get married, silly." Kidoko said, before pushing Ask back against the bed, straddling the teens hips, ignoring the dumbstruck expression on his face as she un-zipped his pants.

--

Previous note here removed because the author shouldn't have ranted and the author is now flogging herself. grins


	8. Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful

Chapter Eight: Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful

_Risen from sand, the Victorious kings_

_March in the light of the weakening moon._

_Fourteen, of fifteen, and twenty-seven strong_

_Seeking a fallen fleck of the sun._

--

Conan groaned, flopping over onto the couch in the common area of the suite he shared with Saguru and Kaito. He shifted, yawning as his 'cousin' came into the room, pulling on a tank top to attempt to beat the winter heat still flooding the rooms despite the air conditioner.

"Of all the places in the world, why _Cairo_?" Kaito grumbled, grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge and cracking open the seal, taking a large drink.

"He's your other half, you figure him out." Conan muttered, pulling off his own t-shirt, melting into the cushions of the couch. It was only seventy degrees, but after the cold and snow of England it was practically scorching to the pair, especially since the planes they had taken hadn't seemed to believe in air conditioning...though, that could have been because they were chartered by Scotland Yard and the station seemed to be on a budget cutting binge.

"I wonder if the hotel has enough ice to fill the tub," Kaito murmured, dumping the last few swallows of water onto his head, shaking his now wet hair. He turned, as the door opened and grinned, almost launching himself at his boyfriend who barely had time to set his briefcase down before he was slammed against the wall, arms full of hyper magician.

"Finally!" Kaito said and kissed Saguru hungrily, pressing the blond back so that Saguru was forced to sit on the decorative end table, knocking over a vase of lilies that had been resting there. "I've waited forever for you to get back,"

"I was only gone a few hours, Kaito." Saguru managed to get out, before his mouth was distracted by Kaito's again, a small hum vibrating them.

Kaito pulled away to mouth at Saguru's neck, hands pulling the blond's shirt from his pants in order to slide under them. "Too long, wanted you." he murmured. "I've thought nothing, but wrapping my mouth around you're hard, thick cock since you left," he whispered, nipping at the flesh under his mouth before concentrating on the buttons to the shirt, eager to get them apart. His mouth latched on a nipple, sucking hard as his fingers continued caressing the flesh offered to him.

"No you weren't,' Conan muttered, not looking up from his magazine. "You were bitching about how hot it's been."

Saguru groaned at the magician's words, pressing his body tighter against Kaito's body, his hands slipping down the brunette's body, gently gripping the curves of his ass. "Oh really?" he murmured, ignoring Conan and lowering his head to gently nip at the shell of Kaito's ear

Kaito nodded, switching nipples for a moment, biting at it before trailing kisses down Saguru's body, pausing to flick his tongue over Saguru's navel. He looked up Saguru's body to the blond's face, smirking from where he was between Saguru's legs. "I've been drooling over it all morning, wanting your cock in me so badly."

Saguru grinned, pulling Kaito up for a hungry kiss, shoving his tongue into the magician's mouth, pressing their hips together, grinding up against his lover, before pulling away. "Then do what you need," Saguru said, spreading his legs more.

Kaito grinned, liking down Saguru's body again, hands working on the buckle of Saguru's belt.

"I'm still in the room," Conan reminded them.

"Then join in or get out," Kaito said, un-zipping Saguru's pants, tugging on them as Saguru lifted his hips to help Kaito get them off.

"Ugh. Breasts, I need breasts," Conan muttered, finally tossing the magazine aside and standing. "I'm going to get coffee and take a long walk, please be finished by the time I'm back." With that, Conan slipped on his shoes and opened the door, about to walk out when he found himself face to face with a pair of breasts.

Blinking, Conan looked up at the group in the doorway, stepping back. "Uh, can I help you?"

"We need to speak with Inspector Hakuba and Mr. Kuroba," one of the men said.

Conan frowned, recognizing the man as someone that had hung out at recent Kid heists, before moving out of the doorway. "Come in,' he said, before heading back towards Kaito and Saguru. "Put it away, we have company."

"Conan, now really isn't..." Kaito trailed off, looking at the group coming into the suite. "Oh."

Saguru shifted, using Kaito's body as a shield to get himself back together, studying five people now arranging themselves on the sofas and chairs. "How can we help you?"

"We need to discuss Edogowa Kiden aka Eden," The blond man spoke and Saguru's frown matched Conan's.

"You're one of his new accomplices," Saguru said, before his eyes fell on the young blond that was glaring at him. "Nice to meet you again, Kudo-san."

Ask glared more, eyes lowering when Eva elbowed him. Eva turned her attention to the three men whose hotel suite they invaded. "We are his accomplices, and normally we would not even dream of talking with you, but things have come up that we believe need your attention.'

"And how are we supposed to believe you?" Kaito asked, taking a seat.

Pan and Eva shared a look before Eva pulled a thick file out of her purse, placing it on the table between her and Kaito. "We're willing to share information, that you do not have access to."

Kaito raised an eyebrow, picking up the file and opening it. He blinked, staring at the images and reports, all the information Saguru would have needed to arrest the people in front of them. He passed the file to Saguru, before looking back at Eva. "Does Kiden know you're here?"

"No," Ask said. "Not that we could tell him if we wanted."

"What do you mean?" Conan asked, setting a pitcher of water and eight glasses on the table.

"That's what we're here about," Eva said. "Kiden is...lost."

"Lost..you mean missing?" Saguru asked, looking up from the file.

"Not in so many..."

"He's been replaced," Ask interrupted, ignoring Eva's glare. "By another personality, much like he had been, to Kaito."

"Are you trying to say Kiden's developed multiple personalities?" Conan asked, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the statement. "Why?"

"We don't know," Eva said sadly. "Sometime after Lilith's death, Kidoko became the prominent personality."

"Kidoko?" Conan asked, surprised. "Are you sure Kiden's not just hiding behind her persona?"

Ask shook his head. "I know Kiden. I've been his lover for over a year, and his roommate for seven years. I also know when he's acting as Kidoko...there's still...parts of him, behind her smile. This is different."

"You have to understand, it's very hard to accept the idea that Kiden just developed another personality at random," Conan said.

"She said she loved me," Ask whispered, and Kaito shared a look with Saguru. Kiden, no matter whose face he hid behind, never said those words...at least, not to anyone besides Kaito.

"Excuse me," Kaito said softly, leaving the room.

Saguru watched him go sadly, before turning back to the group. "Why don't you tell me more about your group and it's history, maybe we can find a clue."

Pan nodded, starting his story.

--

_Eight years ago, Kiden came to me with a plan, it was especially his Plan Z, something to use if anything went wrong and the Black Ops got too close to Kaito. I was...against the plan from the beginning, but just like most of us, Kiden had me wrapped around his finger enough that I agreed. I kept the things needed for the plan and waited for his call, which came the night Rum kidnapped Kuroba-san. _

Kaito stared at the key he had snagged off of Ask, twisting it into his fingers before jogging down the stairs, mind whirling around, chasing it's own tail as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. He flagged down a cab, giving directions to the hotel the group was staying at, fingers still twisting the key.

_After Kiden faked his death, he used his connections with a woman named Belladonna get a place to stay. He finalized the identify of Kidoko and used her face to shield himself. For half a year, things were quiet, we went back to our normal lives. And then we found Ask._

Kaito took a breath, before slipping the key into the lock, opening the hotel room and slipping into the room, silently closing the door behind him as he glanced around, following the sound of singing to the bathroom, where he found a near female body behind the curtain.

"Ask? Can you hand me the shampoo?" Kidoko called, returning to her singing.

"I don't think he can, but I'm willing." Kaito said, grabbing the shampoo from the bag on the toilet, passing it through the curtain.

Kidoko froze, before peering around the curtain, her face lighting up. "Kaito!" She jumped out of the shower, almost tripping over the curtain as she wrapped her arms around the magician. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," he said softly, holding tightly to the wet body in his arms.

--

Pan leaned back against the couch, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. "Do you mind?" he asked, before lighting up at Conan and Saguru's head shakes. He took a long drag before sighing. "At the time, Kiden had already gathered the basics of our group around him. Most of us had been working with him before, I provided some of his explosives, Kuma and Honua did some of his forgery work, and Lily..." His voice caught and he covered his face for a moment.

Eva gently squeezed Pan's hand, before taking up the story. "Lily was the youngest of us, before Ask. She worked at the Cat's Playpen in order to earn money for collage, as well as find out information about the Black Ops...the only thing that kept her going at that time was revenge."

"Revenge?" Conan asked gently and Eva nodded.

"Each of us have been touched by the Black Organization in some fashion, my parents were members who were killed, Pan's wife was a member, Kuma and Honua lost their sister in a Black Ops related accident...Lily lost her parents in an accident, when a bar they were working at was destroyed. This drove her a bit...over the edge."

Conan lowered his head, feeing slightly responsible for the bar bombing, even though he couldn't have stopped it. He hadn't even been really involved, except being in the same place at the same time.

"Anyway, it was Ask who really built us into what we are now. His appearance set us back onto the track of finding Pandora." Pan said, glancing at Ask who didn't seem to be interested in his own story, but in peering out the window.

"And what would some kid know of Pandora?" Saguru asked, still rather grumpy about the boy being his lover's lover.

"Everything," Kuma said, and Conan jumped, not prepared for the two to speak. Kuma gave the teenager a smile before turning his attention back to Saguru. "The Black Organization doesn't discriminate, when it comes to talent and Ask was one of their highest members, purely for his brain. He lead the research team, looking into Pandora...until he was ten, when he was supposedly assassinated."

"Supposedly?" Saguru, not at all surprised that the boy was wanted for his brain. Intelligence levels seemed to run high in those that associated with Kaito and Kiden.

"We found him before he could die," Pan said, leaving it at that.

Conan stood, moving over to the bitter young teen staring out the window. He leaned a glass, staring down at the ancient city below them. "What was your name?" he asked, curious.

"Snow White." Ask said with a bitter smile. He turned his attention from gazing out at the city, looking up at his cousin's reflection. "Everyone related to the search for Pandora were named after a Fairytale."

"Cute," Conan muttered, shaking his head.

--

Kaito sat on the bed, watching as Kidoko donned a silk robe, wrapping it around her flat chest before loosely tying it and taking a seat in the chair across from him, crossing one leg over the other. "Why are you here, Kaito?"

Kaito ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more before taking a breath. "What did you tell me, on the roof before you died." he asked, picking the only question that would settle for him, wither this was an elaborate prank or real.

Kidoko blinked at the question, opening her mouth to answer before realizing she didn't have one. Whatever Kaito and Kiden had discussed before Kiden died, was locked away in the vault in their head, kept private even from someone sharing his head. "I...don't know." she whispered.

Kaito stared at her, blinking for a moment before standing. "Why? Why is he gone?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, almost hugging himself. "I don't...he was the strongest person I know, why would he need protection?"

Kidoko laughed, taking a sip from the glass of scotch resting next to her. "Not all personalities are created for protection, Kaito-kun. Kiden was because you were young when your father died, and you needed someone to rely on. I'm here, because Kiden needed an escape. He's not...ready to deal with Lilith's death and so here I am."

"So does this mean I'm going to lose him to you?" Kaito asked, nervousness bleeding through his voice. It had already been seven years, he couldn't stand to lose Kiden again, to his own mind.

Kidoko laughed, covering her mouth as she almost spit scotch out. "No, not even close, Kaito. I have no interest in Kiden except as an amusing head mate who gave birth to me. My lover has been and will be Yuki-chan."

"You really love him," Kaito said, surprised. "How...er..."

Kidoko smiled fondly as she thought of her young boyfriend. "He means the world to me, Kaito, and before you ask, that feeling is quite separate from what Kiden feels for him."

"Do you know..."

"I do, but that's none of your business." She took another sip of her scotch, before cradling the glass in her hands. "So what brought this on?"

"Your...friends interrupted a very pleasant time with Saguru to inform us that you were around."

"I wonder why they did that," Kidoko said, tilting her head, and Kaito could almost see the ghost of her ponytails in the action.

"Probably because we are most familiar with such an occurrence," Kaito said, shrugging. "I didn't exactly stick around to find out.

Kidoko smiled before standing. "Want to go have lunch? My treat." She gave him a wink before disappearing into her closet to change.

--

"Alright, let me see if I have this straight," Saguru said, running a hand through his hair. "Eight years ago, right around the time he first appeared, Kiden came to you with a plan to protect Kaito," Saguru said to Pan who nodded. "Six months after that, Ask appears on the scene and Kiden gets interested in Pandora again, the one thing he left un-finished."

"Correct," Eva said, stubbing out her cigarette.

"So where do you fall in," Saguru said, gesturing to her and the twins.

"We were the core of his group. Along with Pan's skill with explosives, each of us have our own unique...talents."

"Which are?" Conan said, taking his seat again as Ask wheeled himself back to the group.

"I'm a con-man. I provide information that Kiden needs, but doesn't have time to retrieve." Eva said.

"We're forgers," Kuma and Honu said together.

"I specialize in financial forgery, bank cards, checks, credit cards, anything to provide money," Kuma expanded. "Honu is identity forgery, any id you need, we can provide...except certain ones."

"Then these are yours?" Saguru said, pulling Lily's ID's from her file.

"The paperwork needed to get them are mine, obviously good enough to get an actual identification card," Honu said proudly, taking the id cards and slipping them into his wallet.

"And what about you," Conan asked, looking at Ask.

"Surveillance and technology. As well as the research into Pandora," Ask answered.

"And is that everyone?" Conan asked, curious.

"No, there is Bohdie, who is our un-official leader, she basically runs everything and supplies us, and another member, Leif."

"Who had the interest in mythology?" Conan asked.

Eva smiled. "Kiden."

--

"Hey hunny, want another drink?"

Kaito nodded absently to the barmaid, pushing his glass towards her as she re-filled his beer before turning his attention to the blond at his side. "You're so different," he mused, watching her chew on her straw, occasionally blowing bubbles in the mudslide she ordered.

Kidoko giggled, taking a sip of her drink before turning towards Kaito, smoothing down her skirt as she crossed her legs. "One of the perks of being an original," she said, tossing a peanut into the air and trying to catch it in her mouth, only to have it fall down her tank top. She fished around for it, ignoring the looks she was getting from men as she nearly exposed her fake breast. "Plus I'm only a few weeks old," she added, finally finding the missing nut and popping it into her mouth.

"But still, it seems so odd..."

Kidoko gently tapped Kaito's leg with her foot. "Kaito, you created Kiden in yours and your father's image, what did you expect when he came to life much like you? For all your differences, you and Kiden have the same core. You both would die to protect those you love, you both fight for what you believe in, and you both fight so hard to live your lives. You are twins, both in looks and in your heart." She took a sip of her drink before sighing, looking far older then she should have before hiding the emotion away behind her perky attitude. "I wasn't born of you, or even really of Kiden," she said, trying to smile. "I was created by Lily, her influence and death bringing me out. It makes sense I'm different...I'm not your 'daughter'."

"It's a little weird when you refer to us as related, or me as Kiden's father." Kaito muttered, sipping his beer.

Kidoko laughed, almost inhaling the peanut she had been eating. "What else would you be, Kaito-kun? You gave birth to him, the same any parent would a child. Just because you had sex with him, doesn't change the fact you're his parent. You gave him the morals and values, as few as he has, that he knows. You taught him and gave him the strength to survive these past years..." she trailed off, stirring her drink before looking at Kaito. "He wanted nothing more, then to return to you and Hakuba-kun. _You_ were what kept him going, and I thank you for what you gave him, without it...I wouldn't be here."

"Doesn't it worry you, Kidoko? What happens when he's ready to return and doesn't need you anymore?" Kaito asked, resting his hand over hers, feeling a part of his heart already opening up and accepting this new part of his twin into his life.

Kidoko smiled, turning her hand over, clasping their hands together. "I may vanish when he's ready to wake up, but I'm okay with that. If he's ready to take back his life, then I've done what was intended of me. It was his life in the first place, and it's his right to live it. Besides, even if it's for a short moment, I got to have a great many things, my lover, a great job, wonderful friends...and I got to meet you face to face." She squeezed his hand, raising it up to rest it against her cheek. "Kiden and I don't have what you did, there is no bond between us save the job I was charged with at my creation. I'm okay with fading away."

"It still seems sad," Kaito said, content with allowing her to keep his hand as he sipped his beer.

"I'll always be inside him, Kaito...you'll see me again, even if it's just a memory."

--

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Eva asked as she walked with Ask back towards the lift that would take them downstairs.

"What, and ruin his happy little life? Please." Ask muttered.

"It's the information they need, Ask. It's what they've wanted for seven years." Eva countered, grabbing the handles of the boy's wheelchair, holding him still. "It's what you've wanted. Wasn't that why you were killed? Because you searched too hard for your brother?"

Ask was silent for a moment, before shifting in his chair, turning to look at Eva. "What do you want me to say, Eva? Yes, I wanted to know my brother, yes, I wanted to see what kind of man he was. And I've done that. He doesn't need to know that his family is a group of murderers, that his _father_ created and heads the very organization that he and his family would have died to stop. The only thing I can give Saguru, is a life without that knowledge." With that he jerked his chair out of Eva's grasp, wheeling himself towards the lift.

Eva sighed, following, not seeing the pair of shadows behind her.

Kaito watched the woman leave, before shaking Kidoko off his arm, staring after the two even though they had long left. "You knew," he said softly.

Kidoko nodded, taking Kaito's hand. "When Ask joined us he told us everything he knew about the BO, including it's leader. Despite knowing it's Saguru's father, we couldn't make a move against him. As such, Kiden decided it was better that you didn't know, it would serve no purpose to hurt you both."

Kaito was silent, staring at a spot on the floor unseeing. Hakuba Thomas, the man that had pulled all the strings in his and Conan's life, the one thing they had been searching for since either of them had come in contact with the BO...and if he exposed this fact, it would destroy his lover.

**Note:** I appolagize for my behavior last chapter, I was going through a bad time and should not have lashed out at my readers. You are all free to read and walk away if you wish and I respect that. This story will go on until it's end, just for the sheer fact I'm DYING to write the ending, it's our biggest plot twist in the entire series (and that's saying something!). I have deleted the previous message as it should not remain and am appropiately flogging myself with a wet mackral.

Thank you, to all those who silently read this. I don't know your names, but it's always lovely to watch my hit and alert counts go up.


	9. Misdirection

**Chapter Nine: Misdirection**

_Misdirection is the key element. We can create a space where we give them something to look at to take their mind away from what they really should be seeing. _

_-__Chris Conti_

"How are things going?" Bohdie asked over her small microphone, watching the museum through her binoculars.

"Fine, I'm on the second level already, they barely have any...crap."

"Leif?!"

There was a moment of silence, followed by the spray of an arasol can and a thump of a body hitting the floor. "Sorry, surprise guard, I must say, this gas works beautifully. I wonder if Kiden would let me keep it?"

"Just head upstairs, you thief." Bohdie said fondly, proud of her thief in training. Leif had gone from a small time pickpocket to someone worthy of being Kid's apprentice quite well.

"I'm at the stairwell now...well, that's interesting. I didn't know a human body could contort into such a position..."

"You haven't seen some of the tapes from the girls at the Playpen," Bohdie said with a snort, just imagining the acts Leif could be witness to. "Now stop gawking." She focused her binoculars on the third floor window that housed their target, zooming in to get a good look at the room, nodding in satisfaction at the simple alarm of motion detectors and what appeared to be a dozing guard.

This wasn't after all, an announced theft.

"Alright, you're all set, just be careful."

"I always am,"

"Eh, stop being smug, boy."

Leif smiled and turned off his earpieces before carefully and slowly setting down the bag he had been carrying. He knelt, also slowly, carefully un-zipping the bag and pulling out a white flannel sheet. Raising an eyebrow at the 'tool' to Bohdie had given him to get past the sensors before shrugging and standing, holding the sheet in front of him, trying to cover all the angles he could and covering what he couldn't by walking inch by tiny inch.

It took him half an hour to get to the case that was shielding the gem he was after, smug in his success. He dropped the sheet and reached gloved hands out to lift the glass, managing to get it clear of the gem before an alarm suddenly started blaring.

Lief cursed, dropping the glass case and grabbing the emerald, taking off as the guard across the room snorted awake, shouting after him. He fumbled with the lock of a window, diving through it just before he could be grabbed.

It was about then, that he realized he was still three floors up and cursed, turning himself in the air, and hissing as he hit the ground at a roll, amazed that he felt rather in-tact rather then broken into tiny pieces. He painfully pushed himself up, and limped his way, as quickly as he could, to the area where Bohdie was waiting, thankful for at least, that the guards were running the other direction.

He collapsed into the car, wincing as his ankle throbbed painfully, in unison with his shoulders. He looked at Bohdie's smirking face and flipped her off, before handing over the emerald he had retained his hold on.

--

Kaito stood in the shadows of their hotel room, staring at his lover as Saguru poured over the layout of the Cairo Museum, occasionally making notes as he double checked what he knew with what displays were available at the time. He bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth before crossing the room and taking a seat on the couch across from Saguru, running a hand through his hair.

Saguru looked up, peering intently at Kaito before setting his notes down, frowning at his lover. "Are you alright? You look stressed."

"I'm...fine," Kaito said, biting his tongue, annoyed he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. "Saguru...I need to talk to you about something."

Saguru frowned more and sat back against the couch, waiting for Kaito to continue, not wanting to guess at what could be on the other man's mind, in case he was wrong...or gave the man ideas for future conversations.

Kaito sighed, running his hands through his hair again before clasping them in front of him, trying to figure out how best to approach the topic. "Last night, I came into some information, that I think you should know." He started, staring at his hands, unable to look up at his lover. "Seventeen years ago, your father had an affair." Kaito held out his hand to forestall any comment he was sure Saguru was about to make. "I don't know who with and I don't know why. I do know however, she was a member of the Black Organization. The result of this affair was a child, one whom your father left behind with his mother."

"Him?" Saguru said, his voice breaking slightly.

Kaito nodded before taking a breath. "Saguru, Ask...er, Kudo Yuki, is your younger brother."

Saguru stared at his lover, his mouth dropped open slightly, as the blond tried to wrap his mind around being related, closely related, to that angry, rotten...bratty little twerp. Who was currently fucking his ex. "I..." Saguru ran his fingers through his hair, almost tugging the strands out. "I can't deal with this right now, Kaito. I have things to do."

"Saguru..." Kaito said softly, reaching out to his boyfriend who pulled away violently, covering the action by scooping up the blueprints and notes, standing.

"I'm going to go into Conan's room to work," he mumbled, almost to himself before heading into the room their companion used, a very confused and half asleep Conan coming out a moment later.

Conan blinked at Kaito for a moment, before shuffling off to the magician's room, the door shutting and locking behind him. Kaito groaned and rested his face in his hands, wondering what to do now.

--

Eva tucked her hair back under the bun that was straining to contain it, blowing a long bang from her face as she glanced around the museum, smiling at the curator as he crossed before her.

"Is everything ready?" Pan's voice floated into her ear and Eva hid a smile, turning her head to look into her drawer, masking her mouth movements.

"Everything's set, we're just waiting on the star," Eva said and there was a shout heard faintly over her ear piece, followed by Ask's cursing. "Let me guess, she started ahead of time?"

"Got it in one, head up, she's on her way down."

Eva stood, listening to the sounds of the people around her, faintly hearing the thud of guard's bodies hitting the ground. The door burst open behind her, not the entrance they had planned, and Kidoko came flipping in, dropping two smoke bombs. Eva covered her mouth with a face mask, grabbing a can of what appeared to be hairspray and leaving the room, taking care of the last few guards and the curator, before heading for the display room, checking her watch before opening the door, spying Kidoko stealing the golden jewelry they were after. She smiled, and then screamed, as a hand fell on her shoulder.

Turning, ready to explain her presence, she swatted at Pan who just smiled and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Check out the fight,"

Eva blinked and followed the pointed out path, peering out the window at the street below.

--

"Saguru, come on, they're not going to let you in," Kaito whispered, tugging on his boyfriend's arm.

"They bloody well _will_ let me in! This is _my_ case, Kid is just here for a layover, _they_ don't have to chase him around the globe."

The man in charge of the Cairo police glanced at Saguru before snorting. Muttering something in Arabic, the man gestured to Saguru and two uniformed officers came over to escort Saguru back behind the police lines and out of their hair, having already done the same to quite a few "detectives" who just wanted to add a high profile case to their reputations.

Saguru cursed, glaring at the officers as the pair was all but pushed over the boundaries instead of under them. The officers saluted and went back to the captain to get their orders.

"No see, they wouldn't have...where are you going now?!"

Saguru shushed Kaito, before sneaking around the back of the crowd, managing to find the one small alley not covered, mostly because the two officers who were guarding it were currently un-conscious. Saguru ran up the dark alley, cursing again. The door at the end opened and the dark figure crashed into Saguru, sending them both flying to the ground, a smoke screen appearing around them.

Saguru grabbed the slender wrist of the figure, clapping a handcuff around it. "You are under arre..." He trailed off, staring at the blue eyes above his, taking in the distant, vacant look in them. "Run, you idiot," he said with a sigh, releasing his captive.

Kiden took a scared look at Saguru and took off, darting down the street, before circling back to meet up with the others.

"Why did you let him go?" Kaito asked, offering a hand to help Saguru back up.

"Because I saw that look before...when you woke up." Saguru muttered, leaning against the wall, gently banging the back of his head against it.

--

"I knew you would be here," Kaito said, smiling at the white figure lounging on top of the stone stature.

Kiden looked up and snorted, scooting over so his other half had room to lounge with him, turning back to the clear stars above them. "Oh? And how did you figure that one out?"

"It's the highest place around...next to the Pyramids, and even I would kill you if you climbed them." he took a seat next to Kiden, resting his head on his twin's shoulder. "Besides, Pan told me you flew out here when I went looking for you."

"I could have landed on the Step Pyramid, it's kinda flat," Kiden pointed out.

"Yes, but the Sphinx suits you...us." Kaito sighed, breathing in the scent of Kiden, before suddenly clutching at the other man. "Stop running away," he whispered. "Every time I find you, I turn around and you've vanished again."

"I'm sorry, Kaito. I hadn't meant for that to happen," Kiden said, running his fingers through Kaito's hair.

"Then why did it?" Kaito asked, a childish pout on his face.

Kiden shook his head, his fingers brushing down his twin's cheek. "You know the answer to that, things com up."

Kaito sighed, pulling himself even closer to Kiden, their legs entwining. "What are you going to do after all this?"

"I haven't even dared to think about it. I'm too focused on actually getting this over and done with. The Black Org won't stay quiet for long, and there are still a _lot_ of gems in the world to search through," Kiden said with a small sigh, pulling Kaito onto him as if the magician was a large, human shaped blanket. "Probably retire...and depending on where the BO is at that time, either continue helping the team or," he trailed off, shrugging. "I have no idea, I've never thought of it really. This was my life."

Kaito was silent for a long moment, thinking over their lives, especially Kiden's. After a bit, he gave up on that, tilting his head up to accept the kiss he knew Kiden was more then ready to give him. Kaito turned on Kiden's body, positioning himself better as he slid his fingers up into Kiden's hair, pulling away from the kiss to watch the white top hat tumble off into the darkness before sharing a look with Kiden, the pair giggling for a moment before Kiden pulled Kaito back down into a kiss, moaning as Kaito pressed his body into Kiden's.

--

"It's nice...to see you again," Eva said with a smile, reaching out to gently squeeze Kiden's hand.

"It's nice to be seen. I just wish we had known it could have been a possibility, be able to put plans into place," Kiden said with a sigh, peeling the label off of his beer.

"Everything went fine, Kid-" Honua started, pausing at the glare sent by Kiden. "Eden. Kidoko performed well and we got what we needed both times. Our clients will be pleased."

Kiden reached out his hand, taking the small black box from Pan, studying the antique, shaking his head. "It still shouldn't have happened," Kiden said as he opened the black obsidian box, removing the diamond and white gold bracelet that rest inside, holding it up to the artificial light of the street lamps, watching as the gems shimmered. "Happy Birthday, Yuki," he whispered with a smile, before quickly shoving the purloined bracelet back in it's box as the teenager in question appeared at the table, carefully raising the tray of fresh drinks from his lap to hand around the table.

"Angry cop at two o'clock," Kumu said, accepting his coffee from as and the group turned, Kiden raising an eyebrow at Saguru who seemed to be clearing a path via 'pissed off aura' alone. He stood to greet his ex, and promptly received a fist into his jaw, the strength of the hit sending him spinning slightly.

"That's for faking your death," Saguru said, shaking his hand.

Recovering his footing, Kiden winced, working his mouth to make sure all his teeth still fit together, thus un-prepared for what happened next. Eva screamed as Saguru's arm reared back again, and this time Kiden hit the ground, blood pooling in his mouth, slipping down his throat and clogging his airway as he tried to figure out what happened.

Pan and Eva were there in an instant, trying to get Kiden to sit up and spit out the blood, while Kumu and Honua kept Saguru from possibly attacking Kiden again, thought it appeared that the blond was spend, nursing his split knuckles.

Kiden finished spitting out the excess blood in his mouth, raising his eyes to Saguru, confusion clear in them as to why the blond had hit him a second time, this time hard enough to actually break the thief's jaw.

"That was for fucking around with my baby brother," Saguru said, not even looking at Ask as he turned on his heel, ready to leave, only to find Kaito and Conan standing behind him. The look on Kaito's face made shame suddenly flood the blond and Saguru look away, ignoring at Conan ran past him to check on his brother. Saguru felt a hand on his own, hissing as Kaito's finger brushed over the wounded knuckles.

"Come on," Kaito said softly, re-adjusting his grip before tugging Saguru along. "Let's get this checked out."

---

"I'm not discussing my plans with him in here," Kiden said stubbornly (and quite slurred), giving his own 'brother' a look.

Conan rolled his eyes and shoved another ice chip in the thief's mouth, making sure Kiden couldn't speak. "You're not discussing anything until after surgery," the teenager added, taking his seat next to Kiden's hospital bed, picking back up the magazine he had been reading before Kiden had been brought into his room.

"He's right, Eden, we can discuss everything after." Eva said, brushing her fingers through Kiden's hair.

"Where's Ask?" Kiden managed to get out around the ice, staring grumpily around the room.

"He's downstairs in the taxi. You know hospitals make him nervous," Kiden nodded, rubbing absently at his temples, wishing he could get his thoughts in order. "His birthday...make sure he gets it,"

'You can give it to him yourself tomorrow," Pan said, frowning as Kiden shook his head.

"Just...make sure, alright?"

--

"He's gone," Kaito said softly, leaning against the doorway of Saguru's room.

"Who is?" Saguru asked, looking up from his novel, wincing as his hand protested the movement of closing the book.

"Kiden. According to the chaos at the hospital, he left a few hours after his jaw surgery."

Saguru cursed, sliding off the bed and pulling Kaito close. "We'll find him again, he can't stay gone long."

"He left this...for you," Kaito said, holding out an envelope with Kiden's wild scrawl across it.

Saguru frowned, setting his book aside and taking the envelope, sitting it open with a pen knife, only to have it explode with confetti and what appeared to be a 'Welcome Home' banner.

"Welcome...home?" Saguru asked, confused.

--

Akako rested a hand over her large stomach, gently rubbing it as she stirred her cup of tea, before setting the spoon side, gently raising the delicate china to her lips. She had just barely tasted the tea when a noise startled her, causing her to drop the cup, the porcelain shattering across the floor. "Who's there?" She demanded, picking up a broom from where she had set it aside, raising it defensively.

"Easy there, Little Miss, just a harmless thief," Kiden called from the shadows.

The mop slipped out of Akako's grasp and she clutched her stomach, staring at the darkness from where the voice had come from. "Kiden?" she breathed out, her free hand going to clutch at the counter.

Kiden stepped from behind her, gently placing his hand over hers on top of her stomach, resting his face against her neck. "I've missed you," he breathed, stirring the fine hairs of her neck.

Akako sagged back against her best friend, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I've been waiting," She whispered back, before turning and wrapping her arms tightly around Kiden, crying into his shoulder as he held her tightly enough to break her.

---

**Note:** Year? I do not know of this year you speak of. *walks away innocently*


	10. Birth and Death

**Chapter 10: Birth and Death**

"_Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other._  
– Mahatma Ghandi

"So, where are you guys now?" Kiden asked, scratching at the back of his neck as he watched Charcoal bat a cotton ball around the living room.

"In line somewhere behind Kaito and Saguru, security is being slower then molasses in St. Petersburg on checking people in," came Eva's voice, sounding as exasperated as Kiden had ever heard her in their seven years of acquaintance.

Kiden had to smirk at that, rather pleased he had managed to avoid security…and customs upon his return to Japan. A tiny, very miniscule part of him felt bad for leaving the rest of his team behind to deal with the hassles, but the rest of him just found it that damn amusing. "When does the flight leave?"

"In an hour, so we should be through by then…if we're lucky, but if not, at least we're all in the same boat since I can see the back of Kaito's head and that means they're no closer,"

"I guess I'll see you in a day then,"

"Thirteen hours, Kiden, and you had better be there to pick us up,"

"Right, right…I'll be there…or something like that,"

"KIDEN!"

"Joking, yeesh, get some sugar or something, you're grumpy," Kiden said, hanging up on Eva's latest rant, turning as he heard Akako enter the room. "Good evening Lit…" Kiden trailed off, his eyes widening at the large stain spreading across Akako's night dress. "Holy shit!"

"That was my thought," Akako said, clutching her rounded stomach.

--

Kiden could no longer feel his thigh. He wasn't sure when this had started to occur, though he was quite sure he had a thigh nine hours ago, but right now, he was questioning that and the fact that he knew he was bleeding where his not-thigh was, was not helping him decide if he actually still had a thigh or not.

"Breath, Little Miss,"

"Fuck you, I'll hold my breath if I damn well…mother fucker!" Akako screamed, clenching her fingers deeper into Kiden's thigh, nails digging through the already torn denim and deeper into the flesh beneath, body arching as another contraction hit her.

"Can't we give her anything?!" Kiden asked of the mid-wife, not for the first time that evening, as he tried to pry Akako's hand from his body, giving up to instead wipe more sweat from Akako's brow, shoving ice chips into her mouth as she moved to speak.

"Not here we can't," the mid-wife replied without looking up from her tasks, ignoring Akako's choking on the ice chips to lift the blanket. "Good, good, almost there…you're fully dilated so it'll be anytime now. On your next contraction, I want you to give a good, hard push."

"I'm not pushing! Where's Conan, he promised he'd be here, he _swore_ he'd be home in time!"

"He's somewhere over the Atlantic, Little Miss. Or the Pacific…or whatever ocean is in between Cairo and Japan…and I need that!" Kiden finally pried Akako's hand off of his thigh, allowing her to instead, crush his hand as the contractions hit again. "Remember what the nice woman said, push now,"

"Go fuck yourself!" Akako yelled, squeezing on Kiden's hand as she pushed, crying out at the end from the pain.

"And rest," the midwife said, grabbing Akako's leg as the witch tried to kick her, happily humming as she readied the baby's first bath."

"Akako…"

"Not doing it, this fucking brat can just rot for all I care," Akako growled, glaring as Kiden shoved a towel into her mouth, again pushing as the contraction started all over again.

Kiden didn't have time to count how long it took, too busy trying to keep Akako quiet and pushing, but soon his world was narrowed down to the focus of watching Akako and watching the edge of the blanket, waiting for the first movements of life.

When it finally came, Kiden ran to the end of the bed, peeking down at the small, bloody body in the mid-wife's hands, grinning as the tiny face of his niece turned a bright purple, before the baby let her displeasure be known to the world.

He held the baby carefully as she was bathed; making faces at the beautiful little child. After the mid-wife had wrapped her in a blanket, Kiden gently lifted up the girl, holding her close amazed that something so perfect had come from Akako and his brother.

"Mind giving me my daughter?" Akako asked dryly, smiling as Kiden fawned over the baby.

Kiden nodded, giving his niece a kiss, before placing the baby in her mother's arms. "What are you going to name her?"

"Conan and I haven't decided," Akako said, brushing her fingers through the auburn strands of hair faintly crowning her daughter's head. "But I think…Shiho," she said softly, allowing the tiny child to grip one of her fingers. "What do you think? Think you should be Shiho?" she asked the baby who yawned, blinking up at them curiously.

--

"You shouldn't be up," Kiden said grumpily, gently bouncing the sleeping baby slung across his chest.

"And you shouldn't be anywhere, dead man," Akako countered, watching the skies in front of them for the smallest hint of the plane they were waiting for. She was still in pain, but she wanted to see Conan, the months apart from him miserable for the witch.

Kiden had to smile, gently stroking Shiho's hair. "You should at least sit down,"

"Bite me, thief," Akako said, moving closer to the large windows, her eyes focusing on a small, distant plane. "What time is it?"

"Ten minutes until landing time," Kiden said, shifting Shiho to check his watch.

"Good," Akako whispered, her eyes trained on the plane that she could now recognize as an EgyptAir flight by its tale colours as it started its approach.

Others in the gate noticed the plane's approach and started moving around, gathering their belongings and getting ready to greet their loved ones. Two little kids were pressed against the window, and thus the first to get hit by the concussive blast, as the plane that was taxing in from the landing run-way exploded.

Kiden clutched Shiho tight to his chest, holding Akako around the waist as he struggled to keep his feet. In the echoing silence of shock, he could hear the plastic sound of Shiho's baby carrier hitting the floor and spinning, coming to rest on its side, a doll falling out.

Screams sounded as people rushed for the cracked windows, desperate to see what was going on, if their loved ones were still out there. Kiden couldn't move, a death grip on Akako's waist as he watched the flames of the ruined plane.

Akako shifted, dragging Kiden over to the chairs, forcing him to sit, to look away from the wreckage as she fumbled her ringing cell phone out of Shiho's diaper bag, the sirens of the airport fire-trucks reaching them.

As night fell over the airport, Kiden watched Akako nurse, his leg jiggling, the only sign of his nervousness. Most of the families had gone home, unable to do anything while the officials recovered bodies from the plane…if there were any left. A handful of families and loved ones remained, those still waiting.

It had taken a while to get the full story, but an accident in Cairo had left some of those who were supposed to fly on the now shattered plane stranded until the next flight. Ten passengers who had escaped the fate shared by hundreds. It was only due to Eva's quick planning that Kiden even had half of his team and his family coming back, with only Kuma and Honua dying.

Kiden had no doubts as to why there was a smoking ruin of a plane outside their window.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, EgyptAir flight 18358 has landed at gate 17. Please proceed carefully to pick up your loved ones," a young woman said bowing to the waiting group.

Kiden stood, offering a hand to Akako as the pair made their way to the named gate, worry easily visible on Akako's face as she scanned the departing passengers. She gave a cry, running and throwing herself on Conan, clinging to the young teen even as they both crashed to the floor, tears streaming down her face.

Kiden kept himself in the background, once more holding Shiho (thankfully, lest she be crushed between her parent's embrace), watching the group as they sorted themselves out, keeping out of sight of Kaito and Saguru as he waited for the three remaining members of his team.

Ask wheeled himself away from Eva, easily maneuvering around crying and hugging groups of people, pausing next to Kiden long enough to sneer at the small baby in his arms before heading for the elevator to move down to the baggage claim, Pan following the teenager silently, though he shot Kiden a look of annoyance.

"Problems?" Kiden asked Eva as she dropped her carry on, collapsing on top of the duffle bag, eagerly pulling off her heels.

"Your boyfriend is an annoying, hormonal asshole," Eva stated, dangling her heels by the straps, wiggling her toes to stretch them out.

"So…nothing new?" Kiden asked with a grim smile, not really feeling the urge, but knowing it was expected.

Eva made an agreeing noise before sighing. "Two down," she muttered, standing and picking up her bag.

"Six to go," Kiden added, glancing at the smoke that was visible even from his position, before shaking his head. "Let's go,"

Eva nodded, taking all of five steps before jerking around, an arm grabbing Akako's. "Yes?"

"My daughter?" Akako said, jerking her arm out of Eva's grasp.

Kiden blinked, before glancing down at Shiho, having forgotten he had been holding the small girl. "Right, sorry," Kiden said, placing a small kiss on Shiho's forehead before offering the girl to Akako, carefully sliding the diaper bag up the new mother's arm before shoving his hands into his pockets. He watched Akako walk away, a small sigh escaping him before he shook his head, turning and heading for the escalator.

---

"She'll see you now," the receptionist said, bowing towards Conan and gesturing to the office door behind her.

Conan stood, holding Shiho close as he stepped into the darkly lit office, smiling softly at he woman at the desk. Ran was bent over what appeared to be a good foot's worth of paperwork, occasionally marking a page before turning it.

"Please, sit down," Ran said distractedly, waving at the client chair across from her desk, not looking up at Conan as she finished off the page she had been working on before paper clipping the 'done' pile together and placing them on the rest.

Conan sat, gently rocking Shiho as he waited for Ran's attention, his heart thundering in his chest, anticipating and anxiety thick on his tongue. He had waited a long time for this meeting, and almost couldn't believe it was actually here.

"Conan, it's been a long time," Ran said with a smile, before pushing away from desk and crossing over to the teenager, bending down to give him a gentle hug, mindful of the baby in his arms. "You've grown a great deal, and whose baby is this?" Ran asked peering at Shiho's sleeping face.

"This is Shiho, Shinichi and Akako's daughter," Conan said softly, not able to look up at Ran's face.

"Oh," Ran said, her face falling a bit before she rallied, gently brushing a finger over Shiho's cheek. "H…How is Shinichi?"

"He's fine," Conan said, swallowing thickly. "Ran…I…we…" Conan sighed, closing his eyes tightly. "Ran, I've lied to you."

"Lied? About what, Conan?" Ran asked as she took her seat again, folding her fingers under her chin.

"About that." Conan said, reaching up with a hand to remove his glasses. He ignored the start of Ran's new question, speaking over her. "My name is not Edogowa Conan, it never was. I gave you that name because I was caught off guard…and well, I couldn't use my own." He finally looked up, blue eyes staring intently at Ran's face. "My name is Kudo Shinichi."

Ran blinked slowly, before letting a giggle escape her. "Oh Conan, I know you're trying to cheer me up, but don't worry, I'm fine! Shinichi's been gone for a long while now, and if he's happy, then so am I." She gave Conan a fond smile that slowly faded as Conan's expression didn't change.

"I'm not kidding around, Ran. I was Kudo Shinichi, son of Kudo Yusaku and Kudo Yukiko. That night, when we went to Tropical Land the last time, I ran into a case that…well, let's just say it was a case I couldn't solve," Conan paused to gather his thoughts, noticing Ran's eyes had narrowed. He wasn't sure if she was putting together the pieces, or debating calling for mental health help for him, but either way, he was determined to press on.

"You were close to the truth at one point, when you had suggested that that Doctor Agasa had created something to make me shrink, except, that unfortunately, it wasn't Doctor Agasa that had created it. It was a criminal organization who had done so. A poison created in the search for immortality, designed to be un-identifiable and un-traceable, except for the lucky few that it left alive."

"Left…alive?" Ran asked softly.

"There are only two that I know of, victims who survived the poison. For some reason, a side-effect was discovered, instead of dying, we simply…de-aged. In us, the poison had the desired effect, if not the desired cause. We returned to being seven and eight years old respectively in all but our minds and some of our hormones."

"Who was…the other person?" Ran asked, growing more and more curious about the situation, though her temper was also starting to grow. All those times she had suspected, even confronted him…and he _lied _ to her, pushed her off, conned her.

"Her name when she was an adult was Minyano Shiho. During her life, she was a member of the same criminal organization that shrunk me, in fact, she created the poison. When her sister was killed by the same organization, A…er, Shiho she stopped her research, her work on the poison until they told her what had happened to Akemi…"

"Minyano Akemi?" Ran asked the name familiar to her, though she couldn't remember why.

Conan nodded, holding baby Shiho closer. "Yes, she was the girl that came to us to find her missing father, but was later discovered as a bank robber,"

"Oh…OH! She was…shot, wasn't she?"

Conan nodded again, lowering his head, remembering the burn of his first real failure, and all the pain that that had caused. "She had tried to escape, to gain her sister's freedom in exchange for the stolen money…unfortunately; all it got her was killed. And they never gave her a _reason_ for Akemi's death. All she got was a death sentence, so in the end, it didn't matter what the poison did to her. Kill her, shrink her…it all meant the same end to her, and just…staying there, meant an even worse death. She escaped, and came to me, the only living survivor at the time of the poison."

"Who was she after?" Ran asked, almost breathless, hoping and dreading at the same time the name Conan would reveal.

"Haibara Ai," Conan whispered.

Ran lowered her head, her fears confirmed. She had always noticed something…off about Ai, something so similar to Conan, but nothing she could put her finger on. In the beginning, before she got to know the girl (well, before Ai let Ran get to know her), Ran had suspected that Ai was suffering from some form of abuse. Between her father's job on the police force, his job as a detective, and her mother's criminal cases, Ran wasn't unfamiliar with the symptoms some children displayed. Detachment, fears of strangers and intimacy, the lack of contact and expression normal for her age-group…so many signs had been there, waving their arms for attention.

And yet…and yet it all made sense, it a twisted way that made Ran's stomach twist. Ai_ had_ been abused, not by a parent or a teacher (though she suspected that some charges could be laid at parties that answered to one or both of those titles, considering how she was raised), but by her colleagues, her friends…if she had anyone she could call such a thing. She had been abused in the most base of ways, by the people she should have been able to trust.

It was no wonder it had taken so long for Ai to even give Ran the slightest bit of consideration, if everyone she cared about at all had left or betrayed her so horribly.

"They killed her, didn't they?" Ran asked softly, already knowing the answer. "That's why she died, and why no one could explain it. They used that…crap on her again."

Conan shrugged as best he could while holding the baby. "I don't know what they used on her, but yes, they killed her…and I couldn't stop them." He took a breath, calming the rage that still came when he thought of how the Organization had left Shiho's body, laying in her bed, as if she had just been sleeping…left that cold, lifeless shell for Agasa to find.

"That is why I left when I did, I couldn't…I couldn't stay. I was so afraid, so afraid and so_ angry_. I didn't want to hurt you, and I didn't want _them_ to hurt you. I thought that if they found her, then they could so much more easily find me and if they found me…"

"You thought they find me," Ran finished, letting out a sigh, realizing just how close she could have come. She then raised her head, confusion replacing the sudden fear. "But…if you're, well, you…what about all those times when you appeared in those years?"

Conan couldn't help a small, slightly bitter smile. "Luck." He said, before shaking his head. "Ai had been working on an antidote to the poison almost as soon as she shrunk. All of her research and belongings…her whole lab had been burnt to the ground, and every contact she had that held pieces of her data were either killed or the data was destroyed, but we managed. Small steps, small clues lead us to a temporary antidote…experimental." Conan tilted his head back in thought, staring up at Ran's office ceiling, trying to remember details he hadn't thought of in ages.

"It was risky, an error here or there…even the smallest one, could have killed me. The antidote required several key factors, the first, being that the person ingesting the antidote has to be sick, usually a cold. The second is alcohol. You _have_ to have some form of alcohol, either via that antidote, or simply drinking it." Conan smiled in memory, bringing his attention back to Ran.

"Remember when Heiji first came to the detective agency?" When Ran confirmed she did, Conan continued. "He had brought your father a bottle of Baignar, but gave me a glass instead to help me 'cure' my cold. The two key factors were there and hence, Kudo Shinichi."

"So all those times…you had taken an antidote?"

"Most, though some were others pretending to be me for various reasons, mostly Kaitou Kid,"

Ran nodded, Shinichi's more…odd appearances suddenly explained. "He doesn't need a disguise to be you, right?"

"Right. So he showed up from time to time, mostly to be annoying." Conan said, making a note to smack his brother…or cousin for those.

"That explains everything except…Koizumi-chan…and by extension, Shiho," Ran said softly, wondering if she was ready to hear and if Conan was ready to tell, that side of the story.

Conan swallowed, looking down at his daughter, debating whither he was ready to break Ran's heart all over again. "I had first met Akako at a heist, it was just a chance meeting, and a few words exchanged as I almost ran over her foot with my skateboard. It wasn't until later, after I left here, that things changed." He licked his lips, looking up at Ran. "I swear this was never in my life plans. Everything I had dreamed of since I first realized girls were...well, girls, was that you would be the one at my side, my wife, the mother of my children, Watson to my Holmes. I can't explain where it when wrong, where it changed, I…"

"I understand, Shinichi," Ran said softly, giving him her familiar fond smile. "Life has a way of tripping us. You didn't plan of becoming Conan, I didn't plan to work in Mom's law offices, neither of us planned to be apart…it's just the hand of cards we were dealt, and we have to understand and accept that."

Conan nodded, a weight that he had been carrying around for eight years finally removed from his shoulders. "Akako and I started dating when I was...er, eight," Conan blushed at that. He knew, logically, he was actually eighteen, but to the world around them, he had been a child, easily preyed upon by the seductress. It was rather embarrassing.

"A little over a year ago, Akako decided she wanted a baby, my baby. You really can't argue with her, she's stubborn…kind of like you, really. Anyway, I did my part, and she registered the donation under Kudo Shinichi and…well, now we have Shiho. We started openly dating on my fourteenth birthday, once everything with Shiho's conception was taken care of and there wouldn't be questions."

"Wait, let's back up for a moment," Ran said, a thought catching up with her. "You said that Ai-chan was researching a cure, right?"

Conan nodded, wondering where she was going with this abrupt conversation change…well, conversation reverse.

"And when she died, I know Agasa gave you her belongings, didn't it include her current research? Hakuba-san owns his own scientific laboratory, doesn't he? Why didn't he finish her research?"

Conan sighed. "I never gave it to him. I didn't…I had given up, Ran. I gave up on hope, on the antidote…I gave up on life. When Shiho died, when I had to leave, there was nothing left for me. It took a long time, before I was ready to move forward. And when I was ready, I wasn't willing to hang onto a helpless situation, always dreaming and hoping, but never _getting there_. I decided when I choose to live my life, to live my life as Edogowa Conan, and bury Kudo Shinichi for good."

"But, you came back. When we last spoke, as Ran and Shinichi, not Ran and Conan, you told me that you would never speak to me again, that you had to go so deep under-cover that there was no chance of you coming out again…but you did, you're here, telling me all this. You're digging up Kudo Shinichi."

"Because I wasn't willing to bury Edogowa Conan without someone knowing his true name. Things are bad, Ran. We're so past the edge of the map that the monsters are wondering where the hell we're going. There's a very real chance that this afternoon, tomorrow, next week…we won't be alive. And I can't accept that, without giving you this. You worried so much when I was 'gone', that I wasn't willing to die without you knowing the truth and getting the true closure you deserve."

Ran was silent for quite a while, simply staring off in space, digesting everything Conan had told her. Finally, she took a deep breath, steadying herself. "What do you need, Conan? How can I help make sure that this afternoon, or tomorrow, or next week doesn't happen?"

"I have no idea, Ran. This was nothing…I had hoped, that when we came to this point, we would have a plan, hell, even an idea of a plan. Things have been moving so fast that we barely have a chance to breath, let alone think. Kiden is pushing events forward without us, challenging the Organization towards a showdown that none of us are prepared for and I really, _really_ don't think that we're going to make it out on the other side of this."

Conan bit his lip, worrying it between his teeth before speaking again. "Akako and I, we're terrified of what's coming. But, we're more terrified of what we'll leave behind. Ran…if we don't don't make it out of this, if we die…please,_ please_ take Shiho. If she's left behind, if they leave her _alive_…please. We can't die in peace, until we know she's taken care of…and I don't think we're going to have a choice soon."

Ran blinked at Conan, shocked to the core by his words. She stood, pacing from behind her desk, across her office and back again several times before stopping, standing over Conan. "Let me," She said softly, reaching down and taking Shiho in her arms, returning to pacing as she studied the baby's face.

She finally took a seat at her desk, still holding Shiho tightly to her chest. This was everything she had ever wanted, Shinichi's child in her arms. But…she didn't know if, truthfully, deep down inside her, she could accept that gift, forever knowing it was given by another woman.

Conan watched Ran, worry and fear on his face, desperately hoping against everything, that Ran would accept this, permit this. His greatest fear, since the moment he first held his daughter, looking down into that beautiful face was that he would be forced to leave Shiho behind, leave her alone with no one to truly love her.

It gripped him even harder then the fears that they would take her from him, kill her to attack him.

"I accept," Ran said softly, causing Conan to jerk his head up in shock. "I can't, in any fashion, allow my jealousy and hurt to cause this innocent girl harm. I will discuss the needed paperwork with mom tonight,"

"Ran…" Conan squeezed his eyes shut before moving over to the woman, hugging her tightly, almost squishing his daughter. "Thank you…"

Ran buried her face in Conan's neck, tears hot on their skin as Conan held her tightly.

--

Kiden groaned softly, trying to lift his head, wincing as a sharp pain laced up from his shoulder to his jaw. He blinked in the dim light, squinting as he tried to bring the room into focus.

His mind was a mess, trying to make sense of what was going on and what had happened. All he really remembered was kissing Ask as he left their small apartment to head downstairs to the Cat's Playpen, eager to go over things with Bohdie.

He tried to rotate his shoulders and winced in pain, finally figuring out part of the cause, his shoulders being pulled out of joint by the position of his hands bound tightly to his back…or at least the back of the chair he was sitting in.

A foul taste lingered in his mouth and he spit repeatedly, trying to rid himself of it as well as the burning heat that was coating most of the surfaces of his mouth. The feeling of a large chunk of warm ice resting in his stomach confirmed his suspicions and he spit again, tongue searching out any sores that were in his mouth, left from Chloroform.

The sound of dress shoes striking against the concrete floor reached him and he stopped his oral examination to look towards the sound, a grin splitting his lips as the figure came into view, the strong scent of tobacco swirling around the pair.

"Hello, Gin," Kiden said, almost eager to meet the assassin face to face.


	11. Pandora

Chapter Eleven: Pandora

_He comman__ds__Hephaestus__to mold from earth the first woman, a "beautiful evil" whose descendants would torment the race of men. After Hephaestus does __so,__Athena__dressed her in a silvery gown, an embroidered veil, garlands and an ornate crown of gold._

Kiden screamed as Vodka's hand reached into the hole in his side, the large man grabbing something that Kiden didn't want to contemplate much. "Don't touch that!" he yelled, kicking out at Vodka's face, creaming again as the razor wire wrapped around his legs bit into his flesh.

Vodka laughed, removing his hand from Kiden's side, watching the thief's eyes as they darted around wildly, adjusting the flow of epinephrine into Kiden's body, enjoying the thief far too much to allow the boy to pass out.

Gin watched the pair, smoke lazily curling from his lips as Vodka shattered Kiden's femur, the chair Kiden was tied to rocking from the impact. Vodka had been giving Kiden his loving care for several hours now, the front of the man's shirt and pants saturated with Kiden's blood, and now each hard won scream was a rather beautiful symphony to Gin, who had been tiring of the thief's silence. He had even forgotten what they were there for, too interested in seeing how well they could break the thief.

* * *

Saguru opened the door as the visitor started playing Jingle Bells on the buzzer, reaching out to snatch the hand, before blinking as his brother. It took a moment for Saguru's brain to catch up, considering his brother was usually quite a bit…shorter.

"Have you seen Kiden?" Ask asked, pushing past Saguru, moving stiffly, the 'joint' of his prosthetic locked into place.

"Do come in," Saguru muttered, closing the door before turning to Ask. "Not since we arrived home, no."

"He's missing…again. I thought he might have come over here," Ask said, taking a seat as he un-locked the knee of his prosthetic legs, hissing slightly as he could finally take the weight off his legs.

"How long has he been, er, missing…and is he actually missing this time?"

"Two days, and yes, he's actually missing. No female counterparts running around."

"Hmm, have you tried Kaito's warehouse yet? Kiden has little reason to be here, when Kaito's not,"

Ask gave his brother an annoyed look, clearly questioning why Saguru was considered smart. "Of course I have, I checked there yesterday," Ask said, waving his hand to brush off the suggestion. "You were actually last on my list of places to check,"

"So glad to know," Saguru muttered, sitting across from Ask, unable to stop simply _staring_ at the boy.

Ask slowly grew uncomfortable with Saguru's scrutiny, but did his best to hide it, wondering what was going through his brother's brain. He blinked as his brother suddenly stood, vanishing upstairs.

Ask debated leaving, but the idea of standing up again, when his limbs were already killing him was something that he wasn't eager to endure at the moment, so instead he laid back against the couch, giving a soft whimper at the pain shooting up his left thigh.

Saguru returned a moment later, dropping something into Ask's lap as he headed for the kitchen, returning again with a glass of water which he set on the table next to his brother.

"Why do you have a bottle of Percocet just lying around?' Ask asked, turning over the bottle in his hands.

"It wasn't just lying around, it was locked up in my safe, and it's Kaito's. He's a clumsy fool when it comes to new tricks."

"You keep your boyfriend's pills in your office safe?" Ask questioned around the pill in his mouth, taking a large swallow of water to wash it down.

"Only those he can't be trusted with." Saguru said dryly.

Ask opened his mouth to question that further before snapping his mouth shut again, deciding not to push just yet while he still needed Saguru's help. After Kiden was found however, he intended to push every button he found, as hard as he could. Saguru had seventeen years of annoying little brother to make up for after all, and the blond seemed intent on attempting to build some sort of relationship with him. "How are we going to find him this time?"

"We'll find a way, we always do," Saguru said, not sure himself.

* * *

"I need something of his blood," Akako said, sitting at her desk in front of a silver bowl filled with water, gently holding Shiho as she nursed the newborn. "Blood from a family member, close kin."

"Kiden doesn't have family, Akako," Saguru said, rubbing his hand over his face. "He was created by….whatever the fuck that gem used to create him. Would semen work?"

"Well, it's something _of_ him," Akako said, and the pair turned to Ask who shook his head.

"We haven't had sex since before Cairo and we don't use condoms," he answered.

"What about his blood?" Kaito asked softly from the couch, not raising his head from where it rested in his hands.

"Useable, but where would we get it?" Akako asked, blinking as Kaito stood and took her ceremonial knife.

Kaito tested the edge of dagger before drawing across his hand, offering the dripping blood to her. "Kiden was created from my flesh, we still share the same blood, even if it does flow in another body," he said softly.

Akako nodded, shifting Shiho to raise a small bottle, collecting the blood in the vial, waving Kaito away once it was filled. She turned back to the bowl, chanting softly as she allowed three droplets to fall into the water, stirring the water with a silver rod before sprinkling a handful of crushed orange peel and lavender flower dust over the water, stirring counter to her previous movements. "Silence," she commanded the room, staring deep into the rippling water, waiting for the first sight as the spell took hold.

"He's still in Tokyo…warehouse district…grey metal with a green roof…" Akako said describing the visions as the blood spell narrowed down on the target.

Saguru started writing the moment she spoke, trying to keep up with her woods while Ask copied his notes to a text message for Pan.

"Blood…his blood…everywhere…he's screaming…I can't see…wait…" Akako added another drop of blood, stirring the water again, cursing as the images faded, and clicking her tongue as she waited for the boost to stabilize the spell. "Blond…white blond…large…blocky…a woman…short blond hair…insane…a butterfly on her eye…"

Ask's head snapped up, his breath catching. "Please no…please no…please…."

"Red wine…." Akako's words started to speed up, almost running over each other before she started screaming, clutching at her chest, Shiho starting to cry as her mother cried out.

"Akako!" Saguru yelled, dropping his notes as he raced to the witch's side.

Kaito's arm shot out, sending the bowl flying before grabbing Shiho as Akako collapsed into Saguru's arms, crying.

"He hurts," Akako whispered brokenly, still feeling the echoes of Kiden's pain over the broken connection that she had no idea how was established.

"Do you know where he is?" Kaito snapped.

Saguru glared at Kaito, a frown growing on his face as he caught sight of Ask behind his boyfriend, watching as his brother slowly rocked back and forth on the couch, his arm wrapped around his body tight enough his knuckles were turning white.

"Ask?" Saguru asked softly.

"She'll kill him," he whispered brokenly, still rocking.

* * *

Kiden didn't know how, in the past two days, they had missed it, but resting in his waistband, build into the back seam, rested Lily's last gift to him, the butterfly knife she had left behind.

It wasn't much, not anything he could use for more then one action, but after all this time, and it was a ray of light from the gods themselves. It took the better part of two hours to get his broken, useless hands in a position to pull the knife from its sheath, another hour to flip it open without dropping it, and still thirty more minutes to saw through the ropes binding him.

Vodka and Gin were asleep by this time, leaving Chianti to guard him, not that she was doing very well, considering she was facing the other way, smoking a cigarette. A grin spread across Kiden's face, and he leapt at her, using the momentum to kick the chair off his legs, razor wire snapping as it smashed into Vodka.

Kiden took the moment of shock to bring the butterfly knife up, slicing Chianti's throat, falling to the ground with her, leaving her gasping on her blood as he stared at Gin, waiting for the gunshot he knew was coming.

Both men started as the door to the warehouse burst open, Akako in the lead of the group, fire already leaving her fingers, aimed at Gin. The blond ducked the first blast, only to be hit by repeat gunshots from Pan and Eva in the arms and legs.

Conan darted Vodka who was rising again, while Ask kneeled next to his mother's body, blinking.

"You killed her," Ask said, pouting. "I wanted to do that,"

"Next time, when we meet your father," Kiden said, leaning on his boyfriend. "If you don't need me…" the thief passed out, slipping from Ask's shoulder, hitting the floor with a rather wet sounding thud.

* * *

"I'm getting really sick of hospitals," Kiden muttered to the ceiling, wishing he could turn his head so see something other then the ugly industrial white above him.

"Stop getting injured then," Ask said tiredly, once more in his wheelchair, gently holding Kiden's un-casted hand. He brought the thief's hand up to his mouth, brushing a gentle kiss over the bruised knuckles. "Thank you," he whispered softly.

Kiden smiled, squeezing Kiden's hand. "I promised you that you'd see justice…just helped that I needed her out of my way," Kiden said, bushing off Ask's thanks.

"This puts us back a bit," Ask said, releasing Kiden, schooling his face into a mask that kept his emotions locked away.

"How so?"

"There's no way you can be Kid like this, you can't even move your head."

"I would if they took off the fucking neck brace, but Kid doesn't have to move, it's just a matter of illusion. Besides, I only have one more heist to perform,"

"You found…"

Kiden laughed. "Pandora doesn't exist,"

* * *

"What the hell are you on about? Of course Pandora exists," Kaito muttered, frowning at Saguru and Conan.

Saguru sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Not anywhere in Japan or most of the UK, Kaito."

"How would you know, it's not like you've been,"

"Looking? We have for the past seven years. Between my name and Conan's reputation we have searched every known gem we could, Pandora, for all intents and purposes, doesn't exist."

"There's no way…" Kaito whispered.

"We have collected," Saguru flipped open a file, skimming it for a moment. "Two thousand stolen gemstones, fourteen thousand fakes, and three that no one had ever heard of. Every major insurance agency on two continents have been helping with verifying the stones and there is no such thing as a double gem, either natural or synthetic, the only known doublets are created with glass and none are Pandora." Saguru closed the file, interlacing his fingers on top of it.

Kaito sat down hard in the chair next to him, staring at Saguru. "My father…died for Pandora. It has to exist!"

"The only way Pandora could exist if it's still in the ground," Conan said softly, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Not even my father's sources could track it, nor could the FBI and CIA. We _tried_, Kaito. For seven years we've been looking for it."

Kaito shook his head desperately, not wanting to hear their words, not wanting to know that everything had been in vain.

"I'm sorry," Saguru said softly.

* * *

"There's more then one definition for a gem," Kiden said softly, smiling as he heard the scratching of a pen, knowing that Eva was taking notes. "The most obvious is of course, a gem-stone, a precious or semi-precious stone to be cut and polished. But, there are lesser definitions, and I suspect that, that is what we're dealing with here. After all, oral traditions mutate, and any legend that has truth to it is generally far removed from the original,"

"Pandora…wait, you don't seriously believe that the original?"

"Pandora was, first and foremost, a woman. A gem or treasure to any man. How better would you describe the first woman you ever saw? Given all the gifts of the gods to be perfect, beautiful…everything your heart desired?"

"Pandora was an ancient Greek myth, even if such a woman once existed, she would be long dead, Kiden." Pan said, resting his chin against his fingers. "What makes you think you could find her?"

"Pandora was gifted by the gods only in one version, in pre-Hesiodic times; Pandora herself was a goddess, Anesdoria, an immortal in her own right. _If_ Pandora existed, before the myth got confused and convoluted, she would then still exist in her eternal form."

"You're talking about someone living forever, Kiden. Outside of fairytales that doesn't happen, there are no goddess left amongst man, and certainly not one that contains a red stone that bleeds tears of immortality."

"And once upon time, magic didn't exist, a soul couldn't be split into two bodies, and there was no such thing as the Magician in the Moonlight. But it does, it can and I'm him. Say what you want, Pan, but I think Pandora exists."

"You've lost your mind," Eva said, staring at Kiden.

"I never had one to begin with," Kiden said with a laugh, ignoring their looks of fear and doubt.


	12. Take a Bow

**Please read this first: As some know, this past September my mother died tragically. As such, while this is the intended last chapter, it is not the part I intended, but with the pain and grief all urge and drive to write has vanished; thus, I'm giving you the ending, but not what I promised.**

**If/when I re-write this story (I'm not happy with how it turned out), the proper epilogue will be added. If you want to know what happens after with certain characters, just ask.**

Chapter Twelve: Take a Bow

_Take a bow, the night is over  
This masquerade is getting older  
Lights are low, the curtains down  
There's no one here_

Kiden sat as Ask's banks of computers, staring at the three monitors that were scrolling through the information he needed. Absently rubbing his stomach, he flicked open the bottle of pain pills, swallowing two of them as his focus narrowed into a single monitor, reading through the myths that his search has selected as closely matching his needs, frowning at the images that flickered across the screen with each click.

"Why is she always blond?" Ask asked from the chair behind Kiden, slightly annoyed at having 'his place' usurped.

"That is an interesting question," Kiden murmured, flicking back through the images, finding that a great deal of the paintings had Pandora as either a blond or red-head, up until the more modern artworks, in which her hair was darkened (and of course, the more ancient Grecian images, where almost everyone had dark hair).

"_If_, and please remember that I'm with Eva in thinking you're insane, if Pandora had been, and by extension, was still alive, shouldn't someone have noticed?" Ask questioned, turning his attention to the plate on the desk next to him, deciding to eat more then take-out for once, seeing as how he wasn't getting his computers back any time soon.

"People rarely notice what's in front of them, Ask. How else do I archive all I do?" Kiden asked with a smirk, turning his attention instead to the left most monitor that contained a really bad porn movie that had come up in his search.

* * *

"It's rude to sneak into people's beds," Akako said, rolling over to hug Kiden close, burring her face in his nose. "Where have you been?"

"Working, where's my brat of a brother?"

"The same. Looks like you finally have me all to yourself,"

"Yay," Kiden deadpanned before kissing Akako lightly. He opened his mouth to speak when a baby's cry sounded.

Cursing, Akako sat up, pulling the long nightgown down around her legs as she stood, heading for Shiho's nursery.

Kiden watched her go, a frown crossing his lips as he looked up at the full moon showing through her window, eyes drifting back to Akako as she fed her daughter in the darkness.

* * *

One of Ask's greatest fears when he lost his legs seven long years ago (besides the fact he was close to dying), was that no one would ever like him again. He had been ten, right on the cusp of figuring out girls (and boys) didn't have cooties and that the good looking guy was the one who got all the kisses.

Despite the fact that no one around him considered him a legless freak, it was something he always toyed with at the back of his mind, even after Kiden brought him to bed that first time when he was sixteen.

So when his brother offered him, what to most, would be the gift of a lifetime, Ask resisted fiercely, unable to face how…different he would be, how ugly.

But as Kiden healed from his latest adventure with the Black Org, the combined pressure of Eva, his doctors and Saguru (who never said anything, just _looked_ at him), Ask finally caved, submitting to the process of having brand new, state of the art prosthetics fitted.

And they had been right, it was amazing to walk without constant pain again, to finally be out of his wheelchair more then five minutes a week…to be able to run, chase a dog…play baseball with Conan.

It was something he had never dreamed possible.

But as he stared at the bent metal that replaced his feet, he still felt hideous, like a freak. He had never been normal, but those shiny metal appliances were a reminder that he was further from normal then he had ever been.

And it was with those thoughts; he stood before Kiden's bedroom door, preparing, for the first time in months, to reveal himself (and his new feet) to his boyfriend. He rested his hand on the knob, taking a breath, almost choking on it before forcing himself to open the door, glancing inside, trying to figure out where Kiden had vanished to.

He found Kiden half out the window, the older man's jeans un-buttoned and half zipped as Kiden poked at his new scars, frowning. Ask smiled, reaching out and taking Kiden's hand away from the still sore scars, holding it as he leaned against his lover. "Stop poking it, it's not going away,"

Kiden made a noise of disagreement, leaning back against Ask, rather surprised at the fact his head hit his lover's collar bone. "You're tall," he murmured, turning to look at the teenager, smiling. It was always a treat, to see Ask standing on his own two feet.

"Uh, yeah," Ask said, trying to ignore the subject. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking, what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?" Ask questioned, glancing at Kiden's face.

"You have the Hakuba wrinkle; you're either thinking too hard or worrying, so spill,"

Ask sighed, pulling away from Kiden. "Just…thinking," he said before tilting Kiden's head up, kissing the older man.

"Not going to work," Kiden mumbled into the kiss, though he allowed Ask to pull him from the window, wrapping his arms around the younger man as they got used to the taste of each other after months apart. It had almost killed Kiden, not to be able to be near Ask while he was healing, but both of them knew that if Kiden even got the smallest temptation, he wouldn't allow himself to heal over indulging in Ask's body, and it was hard enough to keep Kiden in bed and resting as it was.

"Missed you," Ask whispered softly, running his hands up under Kiden's pajama shirt feeling the differences since he last held the thief.

Kiden smiled at that, lifting Ask as he pressed the teenager against the wall, groaning, his lips sliding down to Ask's neck, biting and sucking. "Now, what has you frazzled?" Kiden asked as he finally pulled his mouth away from Ask's flesh, raising an eyebrow at his trapped boyfriend.

Ask groaned in frustration, wishing Kiden didn't have a brilliant mind that went with his beautiful body. It was actually very hard to distract the thief when you were trying. Ask unwrapped his legs from around Kiden's waist, tapping the older man's shoulder to be let down.

He took a deep breath, holding it for a long moment before pulling off his shirt and tossing it aside, trying not to smirk as Kiden's eyes followed his hands, drinking in the sight, before following those hands down to Ask's pants.

Ask licked his lips, un-buttoning and unzipping his pants before pulling them off along with his shoes, revealing his new prosthetic legs. He kept his eyes shut and head turned away, not really wanting to see Kiden's reaction.

Kiden smiled, pulling his boyfriend close to him, kissing him deeply, enjoying the feel of Ask's flesh against his, lining up in all the right places instead of causing Kiden a back ache to even touch his lover. "I've never cared about how many parts you've had, Yuki…bits of metal aren't going to push me away anytime soon,"

Ask had to smile into the kiss at Kiden's words, burying his fingers in the chocolate brown strands before pushing the other man against the wall, lifting Kiden's legs around his hips, grinning evilly.

* * *

"What is he doing?" Conan asked, looking up at his brother who was perched on a street light, watching them from under the shadowy brim of his top hat.

"Hell if I know," Saguru said, moving off the porch, just as Kid took to the air, jumping from the light, to a tree, to another, and back onto another light post, pausing to turn back to them. Kid smirked, crooking a teasing finger, before taking off again.

"I'm guessing he wants us to follow," Conan muttered, before shrugging and jumping on his skateboard and following his brother while Saguru took a more casual stroll after. He nearly tripped over Conan however when he finally caught up to the pair, glancing down at the teenager before over Conan's head, his own eyes widening as he took in the sight.

Kiden was standing in front of Akako and Kaito who had been out getting some groceries for dinner, the bags on the ground in front of them, Kaito's hands up, almost pleading as he glanced at the gleaming silver barrel in Kid's hands.

Unlike Kid's normally blocky, perfectly safe (if rather aggravating at close range) weapon, this gun was sleek, reflecting the light as Kiden shifted his aim ever so slightly to the right, focusing in on Akako.

This was not the Moonlit Magician's card gun, but a murder's tool, and everyone who stood there knew it without being said.

"Why?' Conan whispered as Kiden's gloved finger brought back the hammer, cocking the weapon fully.

"Because I promised to kill her when I found her," Kiden asked, not taking his eyes off Akako. "The only thing that was ever asked of me...find and destroy Pandora."

Akako's eyes jerked from the gun to Kiden's face, searching his eyes for something before all but crumpling on herself, any thought or chance of escape gone with that look. Ten thousand years, and she had finally reached the end of the line…there was no where left to hide.

"You're insane…" Conan whispered. "Pandora isn't real, and she certainly isn't my fiancée!"

"Show him," Kiden snapped, sparing the most casual of glances out of the corner of his eye to see his brother, a lance through his chest at the way Conan was looking at him. "After all, Akako, it's a beautiful full moon tonight, and we all know you don't need that heavy jacket and sweater, even in the snow,"

Akako looked at him, pleading, only to cry out as a bullet grazed past her neck, fire licking up her neck from the long burn. She swallowed, un-buttoning the heavy woolen coat she wore, letting it fall aside, before pulling her sweater up over her body, revealing her bare breasts.

And just beneath the left, a heavy, red glow, pulsing rapidly in time with her heart beat…but no…Conan looked closer at his fiancée, realizing it wasn't in _time_ with her heart beat, it _was_ her heart beat.

The red gem of legend was Akako's _heart_.

"Pandora…" Kaito breathed, staring at Akako.

"And the end of my promise," Kiden whispered, his finger tightening on the trigger.

"No!" Kaito screamed and grabbed Kiden's arm, shoving it off course.

"What…but this is what you wanted?" Kiden shouted, confused. "You wanted her dead!"

"No…no more! I wanted Pandora destroyed the gem! Not a woman! No more lives, Kiden…there have been too many already…" Kaito angrily wiped at his tears, glaring at his twin. "No more death…it's not worth it, damnit it!"

"How?" Akako whispered, placing a hand over her left breast, almost cupping the glow.

"The only time I've never seen you with your slut wear was on the second night of the full moon, when it was brightest. You can cover it up as much as you want, but there are signs, no parents, no family…how were you going to kill Shihothe time came to take her place? The same way you killed the original Akako? They found her body in the bay after all, but after that number you did to her face and jaw it was rather hard to figure it out…hell it took me seven months to put her body back together and I had some of the best forensics in the world to go on."

"Akako?' Conan asked, his voice breaking slightly as all the memories of murders piled on top of him, all the ways his daughter could be destroyed so that Akako could take over Shiho's name.

"I wasn't…this was the last time," Akako whispered, broken. "Shiho was going to live!" She screamed at Kiden, lashing out, fingernails trying to claw at him, survival instincts kicking in.

A shot rang out and everyone froze, staring at each other, trying to see who had shot…and who was injured.

"Pandora-san," a breathless voice called and the group turned, staring at Thomas Hakuba who himself was looking at Akako as if he had just seen god, a look of desperate desire on his face, his hand filled with a gun that had been what fired. "I finally found you…" he whispered and moved, gun rising to fire at Akako again.

Kiden shot, knocking the bullet off target and Thomas turned, firing at Kiden this time, only to yell as something knocked into Kiden, sending the thief to the ground. Blood dripped into Kiden's mouth as the sound of bullets surrounded him, forcing him to gag.

"Kiden? Oh god!" Akako pulled the heavy body off of her best friend, her hands searching Ask's chest as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding, wishing she hadn't let go of her shirt or jacket during Kiden's show and tell, releasing the blond long enough to rip Kiden's jacket off of him, using it to try to stop the bleeding that came out with each beat of Ask's heart.

Kiden sat up, looking around for Thomas, only to find the older man on the ground, bleeding from several gunshot wounds, Saguru standing over the man, still pulling the trigger even as the gun clicked empty, his arms trembling, eyes wild. Kiden debated between the brothers, choosing to stay by Ask's side as Kaito and Conan hurried to Saguru, doing their best to calm the other detective.

Kiden looked down at his young boyfriend, ignoring the wetness on his cheeks as he took over holding his jacket to Ask's chest, while Akako pulled the teen's head into her lap, tears dripping down her chin and onto Ask's face, shimmering in the moonlight.

Ask's eyes opened and he raised a weak hand, clutching at Kiden's, watching as his boyfriend's attention focused in on _him_ and not the wound on is chest. "Thank you," Ask said a soft smile on his face.

"For what?" Kiden asked brokenly, brushing a gloved hand over Ask's face, cleaning the blood and tears from around Ask's mouth.

"For saving me," Ask whispered and between pulling on Kiden's shirt sleeves and trying to force his body up, he met Kiden's lips, giving the thief the softest kiss they had ever shared, before falling back again into the snow, his head resting barely on Akako's thighs, her tears hitting his parted lips, sleeping inside.

But as sirens echoed off the buildings around the park, red and blue lights illuminating the sky, the tears simply shimmered and faded away, unable to bring immortality to a dead body.

The glow pulsed in Akako's chest before fading, the magic of Pandora fleeing as the witch sobbed, the gem's shell broken.


End file.
